


Kaiidth

by TKcloud9



Series: Decoherence [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crew of the Starship Enterprise as Family, Domestic Fluff, Ensemble Cast, Episode Fix-it, Everyone wears makeup, Gen, Gotta adopt 'em all, Jim Kirk is a literature nerd, McCoy is the mom-friend, POV Original Character, Save the redshirts, Spock's eyebrows have many meanings, Vulcan philosophy is in here too, not a self-insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 97
Words: 184,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27396970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TKcloud9/pseuds/TKcloud9
Summary: Kaiidth: a Vulcan phrase made popular by Surak, def: 'What is, is.' One particle out of alignment can change the universe. On the macroscopic scale, one must accept the reality is sometimes stranger than it seems, and sometimes, the most important choice is what are we having for lunch? First in the Decoherence series.Cross-posted on FF.net
Series: Decoherence [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001460
Comments: 53
Kudos: 28





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Welcome to the monster that became Volume 1 of Decoherence. I'll be posting a chapter a day until I either catch up to where I am on FF.net or I finish the story, whichever comes first.
> 
> 3/3/21: It's complete! Woo!

"Ma, I need new jeans. And all my long-sleeves are too short." 

"Again?"

"And you have to sign off on if I can watch the health video next week in class, you know, the puberty one or whatever. Oh, and we're on rations for chocolate, um, because I ate the rest of the Almond Joys, so... we need to go to the store." 

Her mother sighed. "And you waited until bedtime to tell me this, why?"

Elle smiled innocently. "I forgot until I wanted some more chocolate again, and we don't have any. Also that signature is due tomorrow, even though I really don't want to watch some lame video about like, having to shave your legs, so maybe don't reply to my teacher's email?" She bounced on her toes impatiently. "Oh, and Old Navy's having a sale, sooooooo, can we go tomorrow, too?"

Her mother sighed again and checked her email. "Okay, yes, fine. You're going to watch the video, though. It's important stuff you need to know." 

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," Elle whined, hanging off her mother's waist and giving her best puppy eyes.

Her mother kissed Elle's forehead. "And we'll go shopping tomorrow for jeans and chocolate and whatever else we need, sound good?"

"Sounds good." 

"Good. Now go to bed." Her mother pointed toward the bathroom. "Go, brush your teeth. I don't want you up till midnight again, then you won't make it to your class on time." 

"Ma, I'm homeschooled, that's the whole point, remember? Teenagers are night owls? That class lecture is totally gonna be recorded, and I can watch it later when I wake up."

"You're barely a teenager, and I don't want you playing video games all night."

Elle sighed. "Fine. G'night, mom." 

"Good night. Love you."

"You, too." Elle went upstairs, brushed her teeth, and went to bed (read as: watched redstone tutorials for an hour and fell asleep).

She woke up in a storage room filled with containers. She blinked, yawned, and closed her eyes to get rid of the dream. When she opened her eyes again, she had to pee. She was still in the storage room. 

"Hello?" she called, creeping forward cautiously. "Have I been kidnapped? Is there a bathroom?"

A man in baggy orange work coveralls came from around the corner. When he saw her, his jaw dropped. "You're not supposed to be in here," he said. "Where's your guardian?" 

"What?" she asked.

"Which entourage did you come with?" he pressed. 

Elle rubbed at her head, feeling strange. "Where am I?" she asked, scowling as a headache lanced at her temples. 

"Cargo bay 2. Are you lost?" 

"Uh, yeah. Where's the nearest bathroom? I have to go."

The man sighed. "All right. Come on." He led her to a bathroom. It was a high tech contraption, but it did the job, and when Elle came back out, he said, "Tell me your delegation so I can comm them, kiddo." 

"Delegation?" she echoed. Weird dream. She shook her head hastily. "Never mind. I'll go back, I just, needed the restroom....elevator's that way, right?" She hustled around the corner and hopped in the elevator as soon as the automatic doors opened. There were no buttons. 

"Please state your destination," a computerized voice announced, and one of the little handles flashed.

Elle flinched and looked upwards. "Uh..." 

"Please state your destination."

"Take me to your leader," Elle said, smirking. 

"Deck not recognized. Please state your destination."

"The bridge," Elle stated. Might as well see this weird illusion through.

"Voiceprint does not match bridge authorization," the computer said. "Highest deck is deck three." 

"Fine. Take me there." She grabbed the handle as the elevator jolted slightly. 

The elevator began to move upwards, and dumped her out onto Deck Three. She wandered down the hall, and found a door labelled 'Observation Deck.' When she approached it, it slid open. "Cool." 

She entered and thirty-odd people turned to stare at her. She stared back in shock.

"Who are you?" an extremely familiar person asked, coming up to her and giving her an odd look. Captain Kirk. Captain James Tiberius Kirk as played by William Shatner was frowning at her. 

"Uh, I think I'm lost." She glanced around him, and felt her eyes widen. She recognized those species. Vulcans, Tellarites, Andorians. They were all wearing formal clothes, and that was _definitely_ Spock and Doctor McCoy converging on their captain's position. Elle swallowed hard and took a step back. "I'm definitely lost. Where, what kind of, no, where is this?" 

Kirk's gaze turned to concern. "Let's take this elsewhere," he said smoothly, and placed a hand on her shoulder to turn her back towards the doors. His two command officers fell into step around her. 

"Who's this?" McCoy asked, his tone gruff but his voice kind.

"My name's Eleanor Wilcott," she told them, her heart hammering with nerves. 

"How did you get onboard the Enterprise, Miss Wilcott?" Kirk asked calmly.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I fell asleep in my house, at my desk, and I woke up in this warehouse place with boxes, the guy in the uniform said it was cargo bay 2 or something. I thought I was dreaming, I'm still dreaming, because you can't actually be real." She poked at his shoulder. "So, this is a weird dream, and I'm going to wake up, and go to school tomorrow." She nodded firmly. 

"Where's home, kiddo?" McCoy asked, frowning.

"Milton, Oregon." 

"Earth?" Spock asked. 

"Well duh." 

He raised an eyebrow. "What year is it, young one?" 

"2018."

Her answer made all three men's eyes go wide. 

"Well what year do you think it is?" Elle asked them, pouting. 

They shared a glance.

She smirked at them. "You can't answer that because I don't even know the year in this series, so you-"

"2267, the 17th of November," Kirk said.

Elle gaped. What. "...nuh-uh." She pinched herself fiercely on the arm. "Ow ow ow." She rubbed at it, and stared at them in shock when nothing happened. She pinched herself again. 

"Hey!" McCoy said, grabbing her hand and tugging it away. 

She stared at the red marks on her arm. "That always works," she whispered, her gut twisting uneasily, "why didn't it work?" 

Kirk gave her a sympathetic smile. "Listen, Miss Wilcott. I know it may seem strange, but this is not a dream. You're on the starship Enterprise. My name is-"

"Captain James T. Kirk," she finished. "Commander Spock. Doctor Leonard H. McCoy. This is Journey to Babel." 

Now it was their turn to gape at her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How do you know that?" Kirk asked.

"It's on the TV show," she replied numbly, her head starting to pound. "This is season two." 

"TV show?" 

"You're a TV show," she told them, rubbing at her forehead.

"We are not." 

"Yes you are." Elle winced as her headache increased, and she felt the world around her go sideways. The last thing she saw was two hands reaching for her. 


	2. 21st Century Immune Systems

She woke up in sickbay. At least what she thought was sickbay. It was different than what she'd seen in the episodes, larger, with more bio-beds and more staff and more wards and labs branching off from the main room. The orange blanket was a comfort though, something immediately recognizable from the episodes. She pulled it up to her chin. 

A soft chime sounded above her head, and she craned her neck to look at the biobed readouts. Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, brainwaves...It wasn't just a bunch of squiggly lines and colors. There were actual numbers and readouts. That, more than anything, convinced Elle this was not a dream. You can't read in dreams.

Dr. McCoy came over to her, from another room. "You're awake," he said, tilting the bed up a little so she wouldn't strain her neck. He picked up her wrist and took her pulse. "How do you feel?" he asked, his blue eyes piercing.

Elle frowned. "Fine, I guess. A little hungry..." Her stomach growled and she blushed. "A lot hungry." 

"I'm not surprised." He let go of her wrist and checked the readings over her head. "Did you know, young lady, you have all the signs of recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning?"

Elle blinked up at him. "Okay..."

He patted her shoulder and helped her sit up. "Do you also know that you are carrying thirteen dormant diseases that were eradicated on Earth a hundred years ago?"

"Um."

He brandished a hypospray and gave her a shot. "General immune system booster," he said.

Elle scowled at him. "Ow," she said, even though it didn't really hurt. 

McCoy gave her a cup of water. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen and a half."

"Thought so." He waved a familiar nurse over. "Elle, this is my head nurse, Christine Chapel. She'll help you get showered and changed."

"Okay." Elle slid off the biobed. "Do you know how far along Spock is in finding a way back home for me?"

McCoy gave her a strange look. "Uh, no, I don't."

"Okay," Elle said cheerfully.

McCoy frowned at her, his blue eyes piercing. "You're taking this all very well."

Elle shrugged. "Well, it's either a coma hallucination or I really am here and if so, Spock's like totally awesome and he'll figure it out, so..." she shrugged again. "I don't know."

McCoy shooed her and Christine out of sickbay. "Go on, go on. Christine, no junk food."

"Yes, Doctor." Christine gave Elle a smile. "No junk food, within reason." They both ignored Dr. McCoy's expressive, 'wait a second...'

Elle followed her down the spacious corridors, giving cautious smiles to the passing crewmembers. "So, where are we going?"

"Visitor's quarters," Christine replied. "Deck six."

"Cool." 

The guest quarters were just like in the show, with the desk in the corner and the glittery orange duvet on the bed and the sonic shower in the bathroom. Christine showed her how to use it and synthesized a set of clothes for her. "Here you go."

Elle took a shower and put on the thick, stretchy leggings and the long, flowy tunic. She felt like she was wearing pajamas. It was nice. She came out of the bathroom, and Christine braided her hair. It was nice and long for a braid, a deep black just like her mom's. The braid swung over Elle's shoulders as she leaned forward to pull on a new pair of shoes. They were like pull-on sneakers, but with no logos. Maybe Nike didn't exist in the future. 

"Where are you from?" Christine asked, handing her a deep green sweater. 

"Oregon." Elle touched her braid. "My grandma's from Mexico. That's where I get the hair." She scowled. "I don't speak Spanish though. My mom barely spoke it growing up and she didn't teach me either. So I'm gonna have to, like, learn it in high school or something. But I wanna take German. German's cool."

Christine touched Elle's neck, where there was a fading sunburn. "You burn, though?"

"Everybody from that area is super white," Elle said frankly. "And my dad's side's from, like, England or something, so that's double white." She sighed. "I wanted to get like my uncle Roberto because he gets like, super tanned, but, my grandma doesn't like him cuz he's too dark."

Christine smiled briefly. "I see. Shall we go eat?" 

"That sounds great." Elle followed her down the corridors. "This ship is huge."

"Yes it is."

"How long does it take to walk the whole thing?"

"Oh, a while. I've never done it myself but it usually takes Captain Kirk about three or four hours to make the rounds."

Elle nodded slowly. "But he stops and talks to everyone on the way, so it takes him a while longer."

"How do you know that?" Christine asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Because he's Captain Kirk," Elle said simply. "Doesn't he?"

Christine frowned at her. "Yes, he does."

They went into what Elle recognized as the Recreation Deck, and stopped by the food slots. Christine slid the card in and punched a couple of buttons. "What would you like?" she asked.

Elle bit her lip. "Can I have pizza? It has vegetables on it."

Christine smiled. "Sure. And to drink? Don't say soda."

"Lemonade please."

A piece of pizza and a cup of lemonade appeared in the slot.

"That's so cool," Elle said, bouncing on her toes. She calmed down as she picked up the tray, and followed Christine to a table. There were a lot of people in here and she didn't want to spill anything. That would be so embarassing.

The pizza tasted like, well, pizza. Not great and not terrible. The lemonade was good, not too sour. 

They were still eating when two people stopped by. Elle stood, her mother's 'stand for older people!' ringing in her ears. "Ambassador," she said nervously. It was Sarek and Amanda, Spock's parents. 

"Young one," Sarek said, nodding. 

"We saw you earlier in the reception hall," Amanda added. "You seemed, disturbed. Are you well?"

Elle blushed, embarrassed that they'd noticed and they wanted to check on her. "I'm fine, thank you," she said, fidgeting. "How are you?"

"We are well."

Elle frowned. "What about your heart problem?" 

Sarek's eyebrow went up. "How do you know this information?" he asked severely.

Elle's blush grew. "Um, lucky guess?" she asked weakly.

Christine spoke up. "Ambassador, if you have a current medical condition-"

"It is of no concern," Sarek said dismissively. 

"Sarek?" his wife asked, frowning.

Elle bit her lip and tried not to fidget. Should she tell them? Should she not? She remembered this episode pretty well, it was one of her favorites, and- "It's his heart valve," she said abruptly. "He needs surgery before he collapses again." 

"Again?" 

"Heart valve?" 

The two women shared a glance, and stood. "Sickbay," Christine said. "Elle, can you stay here?"

"Wait," Amanda said. "How did you know?"

All three adults looked at her, curious.

"Uh... there's a television show. This is the episode Journey to Babel," Elle said nervously. "Your medical condition is a big part. Besides, the whole uh, spy thing."

"Spy thing?" Sarek echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh... I should probably save that information for the captain."

"Okay." Christine pinched her nose. "Ambassador, Mrs. Sarek, if you'd come with me to sickbay? And Elle, you can stay..." She looked around the mess hall. "You'll stay with Lt. Sulu, all right?" She gave Sulu a look, and he nodded. "Okay."

They left and Sulu slid into the seat across from Elle. "My name's Hikaru," he said.

"I'm Elle." She eyed the other ambassadors mingling with the oficers. Or rather, the officers were trying to run away from them, and the diplomats just kept going on and on and on... her eyes locked on one of the Andorians and she couldn't help staring. 

"What's wrong?" Sulu asked, when she didn't move.

She broke her gaze away from the Andorian, took a bite of her pizza, and chewed it thoughtfully. "Lt. Sulu, if you knew something was gonna happen, like, if something big, like, say a spy or something, or like a murder, or something, but you don't have any proof, would you say something?"

Sulu put down his spork and frowned. "If it saves someone's life, then yes."

Elle nodded slowly. "Then I need to talk to the captain. One of the diplomat people's is a spy." 

Sulu's eyes widened and he hushed her. "That is a serious charge," he whispered.

"I know," Elle whispered back. "But if I'm right about Ambassador Sarek I'm right about the other stuff." 

"Okay then. Let's go talk to Dr. McCoy and get confirmation, and then we'll talk to Captain Kirk." Sulu stood up. "C'mon."

She followed him to the recycler and watched in fascination as the tray and food remnants dissolved into their respective components. "That's so cool," she gushed. 

Sulu grinned at her. "No synthesizers where you're from?" 

"No, just regular dishes. And I was the dishwasher," Elle said mournfully. "Well. Mom does the pots and the delicate stuff. I do..." she trailed off as she realized something. "I hope they don't think I ran away! Oh man, my parents are going to be so worried..."

Sulu patted her on the shoulder. "Mr. Spock is the finest scientist in the Fleet, Elle. He'll get you back. First things first, let's go see McCoy."

She followed him out of the mess hall.

When they entered, Kirk and Spock were already there speaking to McCoy, Amanda, and Sarek. All eyes went to Elle. 

She gulped and edged behind Sulu. 

"Captain, Elle has something she needs to speak to you about," Sulu said, and at Kirk's nod, he left, giving Elle a pat on the shoulder.

Elle glared at his retreating back and turned to McCoy. "Was I right?" she asked, twisting her hands together uneasily. 

"I don't know how you knew, but yes, Ambassador Sarek has a defective heart valve."

Elle nodded. "That means this universe is more or less like the episodes right? You're gonna do the surgery?"

"That's what we're discussing now, yes." McCoy turned to Sarek and his family. "As I was saying, we'll do a copper-based hemodilution and use a one percent fraction of of Spock's platelets to perform the surgery. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, as this is a serious operation, but you should recover in time for the conference."

Elle frowned. "No blood transfusion?" she asked. "In the episode that was like, a huge part of it."

McCoy shook his head. "That may have been an acceptable method in the 21st century, Elle, but surgery has come a long way. Patients actually recuperate better without foreign substances floatin' around in them, imagine that," he drawled, giving her a smile.

She giggled at his exaggerated wink. "Awesome. I'm glad." She looked at Kirk. "I really need to talk to you, captain."

"All right." He ushered her to the other side of the ward, out of earshot. "What can I do for you?"

"One of the Andorian aides is a, um, he's green. Orion, yeah. An Orion spy. The ship that's tailing us or whatever, that's them." 

"We haven't seen any ships," Kirk said.

"They're there. Hiding." 

"All right. Are you sure, Elle?" he asked, giving her serious look. 

"I'm sure."

"Do you know which one?"

Elle shook her head. "I don't remember the name. But it's not the ambassador himself."

Kirk frowned. "All right. Thank you, Elle. Keep this information to yourself for now."

"Okay."

"You feel like going to the Rec Deck?"

"Sure?" she said. 

"We'll take you." He grabbed Spock and the three of them left sickbay.

Elle glanced up at Spock. He looked worried-but-not. She couldn't blame him.

He noticed her sideways glance. "Yes, young one?"

"Nothing. I was just going to ask if you had anything on how I got here, or how to get me back, but, there's diplomats and spies and your parents, so I won't ask. That's more important."

"I have determined that there was no discernible spatio-temporal anomaly at the time of your appearance," Spock replied. "Further than that I have not been able to analyze."

Elle nodded. "What about, um, quantum signatures? Have you checked that yet?"

Spock's eyebrow went up. "Quantum signature?"

"Yeah. You know, wait, you don't know. It's from The Next Generation." Elle huffed. "It's the, uh, the frequency that everything resonates at. Like, mine'll be different cuz I'm not from here. Like Worf's in that one episode where he was switching all over the place." 

"Do you know how to read this quantum signature?" Spock asked. 

Elle's eyes widened as she tried to remember it. "Uhhhhhhmmmmm.... Data did something. Data scanned his DNA? Or something? It's a really, really tiny flux."

"I see."

"But you'll totally find it," Elle added. "After the surgery maybe." She got distracted by a crewmember who looked like a crystal in a forcefield. "I really don't mind," she said, dragging her feet to catch another glimpse of him/her/it. "Cool..." 

They arrived at the Rec Room and went inside. People shifted when they noticed the captain and first officer, but otherwise stayed relaxed. 

Captain Kirk waved over a young woman in civilian clothes. "Lt, can I put you in charge of our guest?" he asked. 

"Of course, captain." She held out a hand. "Lt. Martine."

"Elle," Elle said, recognizing her from an episode. "Nice to meet you." 

The lieutenant showed Elle how to use the game console. Lo and behold, there was a Pac-man game in the list, one of the few she recognized. There was Minecraft, too, but Elle didn't want to invest that much time. 


	3. The Assassinator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smol chapter.

Twenty games of Pac-man later, Elle couldn't stop yawning. She realized, belatedly, that she hadn't slept in... a really long time. "Lt. Martine? I'd like to go to my room and sleep, please," she said.

The lt. was speaking with her boyfriend (fiance?) Lt. Tomlinson. Neither of them looked too happy at being interrupted. "Can you give us twenty minutes?" Tomlinson asked.

"Sure," Elle said, slouching into her seat. She scrolled through the list of games, looking for a puzzle or a crossword, something easy...

Elle glanced up, yawning so hard her jaw popped. There were a few diplomatic people in here besides the regular crew, mostly the attaches and the aides. Her gaze fell onto one of the Andorians and she froze.

It was _him_. That was the Orion in disguise.

Elle didn't know how she knew, but that was definitely Sir Stab-a-lot.

The spy raised his head and locked eyes with her, raising an imperious eyebrow.

Elle gulped and glanced away. She could feel his gaze on her, and she shuffled over to Lt. Martine. "Lt. um, can I go by myself? I remember the way."

"Are you sure?" 

"I'm sure." She had to get out of here. Elle was really, really bad at playing natural. She was always the first one out during a bluffing game. 

"Very well," Lt. Martine said.

"Thanks. Good night!" With a final glance at Sir-Sow-Seeds-of-Discord, Elle ducked out of the Rec hall. She headed for the lift. "Deck, uh-" She'd forgotten. "Deck 5?" she guessed, remembering something about guest quarters from one of the episodes.

The lift dumped her out on Deck 5 and she headed to the nearest computer panel. "Guest quarters, Eleanor Wilcott," she said, poking at the info button. 

"Deck 6, Section G," the computer replied.

Ugh. So close. "Thanks," Elle told the screen. She got back in the lift and went down one. "Okay. Now for section G." 

She turned the corner and bumped into a solid chest. Down she went with a thunk. "Ow." She looked up--it was the spy. Her mouth went dry and she scrambled to her feet. "I, uh, sorry. Sorry." 

He stepped neatly in front of her. "Who are you?"

"Nobody. Just a kid."

"Hm. A human child who finds Andorians repulsive, maybe? Or frightening?"

"No!" Elle protested.

"Then why do you stare?" 

She gaped at him silently. "I, uh," she said, and her eyes traveled to his antennae. They weren't moving at all.

His eyes sharpened. "Oh, I see," he said. "You were also the one who got Ambassador Sarek out of the way, aren't you?"

Elle stayed silent. She watched his hand flick toward his belt. She turned on her heel and ran for it. 

He bolted after her.

There was no one on this deck. Elle pelted down the hall, looking frantically for a lift. 

The Orion was faster than her. He cornered her. "Who are you?" he demanded. "A telepath? A spy?"

"No, I, I just, I don't know anything," Elle said, pressing against the wall. Her hands shook as she stared at him. At the knife.

"No matter. You already know who I am," he said, and the blade flashed forward.

Elle jumped to the side to dodge but she wasn't fast enough--a sudden pain lanced through her side, and then another one. She fell to her knees and stared in horror at the blood gushing into her hands, soaking her clothes. Suddenly she felt cold. Freezing. Dimly she registered the Orion spy moving away. 

Wait. There was... if she could reach a wall panel, a comm board... she raised herself up on her knees and choked back a cry of pain. Yup. There it was. Pain. Lots of pain. "Help!" she called, her vision greying. It hurt, like nothing had ever hurt before and she started to cry. "Help me!" 

Someone came around the corner and gasped. "Great Bird!" Then there were hands over her wounds, putting painful pressure. "Call medical!" Soft hands brushed Elle's hair back. "Can you look at me? Stay awake, sweetheart." 

"Andorian," Elle gasped, grunting as the pressure increased. "He stabbed me. The tall one. His, ugh, his antenna didn't move." She shivered. 

"Okay, okay, just hold on, kiddo." 

Sickbay was only one deck away--a med team, McCoy in the lead, came rushing down the hall. "Oh, you've got to be kidding," he said, and pulled out a hypospray as he kneeled beside her. "I thought I told you to stay out of trouble," he griped, his expression gentle. 

"Nngh," Elle replied. 

"Stay with me, kiddo." 

She whimpered as she was moved onto the gurney and closed her eyes to keep the dizziness away as she was rushed down the hall. Before she knew it, Elle was on her side in a bio-bed. She faded in and out, the only thing keeping her from drowning in pain the sound of McCoy's voice barking orders. 

"Elle, stay with me," Bones snapped, touching her cheek gently. 

"The Andorian," Elle gasped out.

"Don't worry about that right now." Another hypospray. "BP's dropping. Prep for surgery, Christine, there's too much internal bleeding."

That was the last thing Elle heard, and then it went dark.


	4. Spock Doesn't Have a Sister

  
Elle woke up slowly, one sense at a time, and wasn't that weird. First all she could do was hear and all she heard was beeps and chirps and the hum of voices. Then she could smell--it smelled clean and just a tiny bit like rubbing alcohol. And then she could feel, and her whole body was warm and she was laying on her side, and her other side ached with a dull throb. She dragged her eyes open, wondering why her mom hadn't woken her up yet for school. "Mom?" she asked, but her throat was dry and it came out "mrgh." She tried again. "Mom?"

A voice behind her, unknown. "Nurse Chapel, she's awake." 

Elle tried to turn over but it hurt and tears sprang to her eyes. A moment later Nurse Chapel came around the side. "Elle?" She laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Welcome back. How do you feel?"

"Where's mom?" Elle asked, feeling all over fuzzy.

Nurse Chapel frowned briefly. "She's not here, sweetie. Do you remember where you are?"

"En'er'pris," Elle said, and then realized. "Oh yeah." She closed her eyes against hot tears. Oh no, she _hated_ crying in public. She brought her hand up to her face to hide.

"You're all right, sweetheart," Chapel said calmly. "Coming out of anesthesia can make you a little weepy. You're okay to cry if you want. Are you in any pain?"

Elle contemplated this for a moment. "Nope," she decided. "Just when I try to move."

"Do you want to sit up?"

"Nuh-uh."

"You want some ice chips?"

"Yesssss."

The first ice chip was bliss and Elle crunched at it with enthusiasm. Then she remembered why she was here and nearly choked on it. "Did we get him?" she asked, tugging at the nurse's sleeve. "The fake Andorian?"

"We got him," Chapel confirmed. "He's in the brig. You're safe."

Elle relaxed. "Kay. Good." She closed her eyes.

-/\\-

When she opened her eyes again she was laying on her back. Sarek was across the ward from her, and Spock and Amanda were standing on either side of him. Spock came over to her. "Young one," he said gravely. "How do you feel?"

"Meh," was Elle's elegant reply. "Didya get him?"

"He is in the brig," Spock said. "You are referring to the Orion spy?"

"Yup. Didcha get his radio antenna?" She giggled. "Get it? Radio, in the antenna?"

"How did you know this?" he asked.

"It was in the episode." She glanced over at Amanda, who was watching them with an odd smile on her face. "Your mom's really pretty," Elle told Spock. "Like, super pretty. I like her, a lot. Has she slapped you yet?"

Both eyebrows went up. "My mother does not recur to acts of aggression," he said.

She blinked, trying to decipher his big words, and then nodded wisely. "Right. Duh. I got stabbified instead of the captain so he's in command and you don't have to donate blood so you're dad's life isn't in danger at the same time as Jim's so your mom doesn't slap you for choosing the ship over your dad."

He blinked. "I see," he said, in a tone that meant he clearly did not see.

"You should talk to your dad," she advised, snuggling under the blanket. "He's pretty cool after this point. Just, like, he doesn't know what to say to you cuz you're all famous and grownup and he doesn't know you as a person. Which is fine. Cuz when Vulcan tries to secede you'll all be working together."

His eyebrows went up again. "When-"

Then she thought of something. "Hey, hey, do you have a sister?"

He blinked. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite."

"Hah! I knew it!" She snickered into her pillow. "My friend's gonna be so mad that it's not canon. I knew it." 

Spock's other eyebrow went up. "Perhaps you should rest," he said.

"I'm not sleepy. Can I have some juice?"

"I shall inquire." He left.

Elle closed her eyes for a minute and opened them again when she felt staring. Both Sarek and Amanda were looking at her. "Hi?" she asked.

"Are you a telepath?" Sarek asked.

"No."

"Empath?"

"Nope."

"What is your esper rating?" 

Elle squinted at him. "I don't know what that is?"

"Then how do you know-" he broke off, looking stiff and uncomfortable.

"I read all the books," Elle said, "and I saw all the eps. Oh, hey, you should mind-meld with him at least once before you get super old. Am I not supposed to change the future? Oh well." She waved a lazy hand.

Spock came back with a cup of juice and Dr. McCoy. Bones helped her tilt the bed up and she sipped at her juice as he checked the dressings on her wounds. "You're healing well," Bones said. "Probably won't even scar." 

"What, really?" Elle pouted into her cup. "That'd be a cool story though."

He stifled a laugh. "You'll have to take your chances kiddo. Now, I'm keeping you here for four more days to make sure you keep healing and to make sure you don't get an infection. After that if you behave you can go back to your quarters."

"Mmkay, cool. Do you have tv in the future?"

McCoy pulled the computer screen towards her. "Knock yourself out, kiddo. But I want you to sleep as much as possible, so remember there's a feature called 'pause' on these things, okay?" He showed her where the wireless earbuds were and left her to scroll through the database.

Elle fell asleep around the fourth episode of Star Trek's version of Kim Possible.

When she woke up there was a plate of food waiting for her. Nurse Chapel appeared as well. "Eat all of that and you can have your next dose of painkillers," the nurse said.

Pancakes, eggs, and a bowl of blueberries later, "can I have coffee?" "No," Elle got to take the two tablets for pain. Her side was really starting to ache.

"I don't like being stabbed," Elle told the ceiling lazily, once Nurse Chapel had left. "Would not recommend, zero out of ten." 

"I'll keep that in mind," said a new voice with a chuckle.

Elle yelped in surprise and jerked up, pulling painfully at her side. She winced and rolled over, trying to curl around her injury. "Ow, ow, ow," she whispered.

Gentle hands helped her get resettled. "I'm so sorry," Kirk said, giving her an apologetic frown. "I thought you'd heard me come in." 

"I was talking to the ceiling," Elle informed him, reaching for a mug of tea Bones had left for her around episode three of Kim Possible. "Um, what can I do for you, captain?"

"I came to thank you," he said, eyes bright with sincerity. "You alerted us to the Orion and helped us locate their spy, and prevented a murder." 

"And I got stabbed," Elle added.

"And that," he agreed, chagrined. "You have the thanks of my crew and myself, and that of the ambassadors." 

Elle had never been formally thanked before. "You're welcome?" she said uncertainly.

"You're a brave young woman," he said. "Also, Cmdr. Spock asked me to inform you he's looking into your quantum signature theory."

"Nice." Elle took a sip of tea. It'd been in this mug for at least four hours but it was still the perfect temperature. "Supermug," she said. "I've gotta take one of these with me. My dad'll love it."

He quirked a smile. "Big coffee drinker?" he asked.

"Yup. He works from home, doing web development. He's like, ninety percent caffeine and code, and ten percent comics," she said, smiling fondly. "He's a total nerd, from before they were cool." 

"And your mom?" Kirk asked.

She smiled wider. "My mom's awesome. She's a technical writer, so she works from home too. I homeschoool, by the way, so I'm weird like that, but the middle school in our town is... ugh." She made a face. "The worst. Very sketch. They're still running Windows Vista. And they have fat monitors! Fat. Monitors." 

He stifled a laugh. "I see. Do you like reading, Elle?" 

"I love reading. Everything except romances. I mean, I don't read 'em for that. I read for the adventures and the sci-fi and stuff. And the fanfictions for the fluff." 

"The fan-fiction?"

Elle turned pink. "...never mind." She gestured to him. "What do you like to read?" 

He raised a challenging eyebrow. "Since you know us so well, apparently, what do you think I like to read?" 

Elle grinned. "Shakespeare. Milton. Nelson. Jellicoe. Smith. Sun Tzu. Uh, that one with the, Dante. And cowboys. You're from Iowa, you must read cowboy stuff. And all the classic scifi, Bradbury, Asimov. You've read Vulcan stuff, too, I'm sure. And you've definitely read Horatio Hornblower, you must have." 

He stared at her, impressed. "Do you like mysteries?" he finally asked.

"Yup. I'm trying to get through all of Agatha Christie's stuff. It'll take me forever though. And I only have two days to finish the one I borrowed from the library, Death on the Nile? By the time I get back it's gonna be overdue." She pouted. 

He smiled slightly and stood. "I have to get back to work, but, can I come back later? I'll smuggle you some cheesecake." 

"Don't even try it!" McCoy hollered from the other room.

Kirk winked at her and escaped.

Elle smiled. "He's really nice," she told Bones, as he entered the room to investigate for threats of junk food. 

He rolled his eyes and patted her arm with a paternal air. "That's why he's a starship captain," he said.

Elle passed the time sleeping and watching the black and white show called Captain Proton. It was weird not seeing Tom Paris playing the main character though. 

When she woke up again after her fifth nap, Captain Kirk was sitting in the chair beside her, doing paperwork on his tablet, er, PADD. It wasn't as fat as she thought it'd be. More like an iPad. He smiled when he saw her. "Awake?" he asked.

She stifled a yawn and nodded.

He grinned. "Good. I brought you something." He glanced around and then lifted a small square of cheesecake from a plastic container. "Don't tell Bones," he whispered with a conspiratorial air.

"I won't," she whispered back, taking the treat.

He held up a book, an old paperback with folded ears. "I have it," he said. 

Elle stared. Death on the Nile. "Wait, you really do collect old books?" she asked. "Isn't that really expensive?"

"They're rare," was all he said. He held it up. "Should I read to you?" 

"I would love that." 

He read with enthusiasm, giving Poirot and the others life, but Elle couldn't remember the plot he was telling, even though he started reading at the beginning. Maybe it was a different book completely, being a different universe and all. It was still interesting. 

He stopped when she yawned. "I think we'll put a pause on the literary portion of today," he said gently.

"Thank you, captain," Elle said. "I know, you have a lot going on right now, with the diplomats and stuff." 

He gave her a small smile. "Thank you, for giving me an excuse to get out of talking to them." 

She laughed. 

He patted her on the arm gently, and went out.

Bones wasn't even mad when he discovered the empty cheesecake plate. "Coulda brought one for me too," he grumbled, taking it away to a disposal chute. 


	5. This is Not a Fanfiction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small chapter in which the angst hath arrived.

Elle was released from sickbay four days later, on strict instructions not to overwork her right side or lift anything over ten pounds. 

She had a second breakfast of milkshake. Halfway through her shake, her door chimed. "Come in," Elle called. 

Spock, Captain Kirk, and Christine Chapel entered.

Elle took in their somber expressions and stood. "What's going on?" she asked. "Did I, am I in trouble?"

"No, no you're not in trouble," the captain assured her, and he was being very captainly right now. "Mr. Spock has some findings for you." 

Elle turned to look at Spock. "Did you find a way to get me home?" she asked eagerly.

He stiffened. "I discovered the quantum signature you spoke of, which resonates at the cellular level. I compared your quantum signature to various of the crew, as well as those of several diplomatic parties. Your quantum signature matches ours."

She gaped at him. "But it can't! I mean, I'm not _from_ your past. There was no World War Three, or Eugenics Wars, or--how is that possible?"

Spock fixed his eyes on her. They were dark and quietly sympathetic, the kind of eyes the doctors had when they told Elle's father that Grandpa George had died. "Upon closer examination I discovered two instances in which your quantum signature fluxed. Once when you appeared in Cargo Bay Two as an extra lifesign, and once after you were injured, upon reaching a state of critical blood loss. Dr. McCoy and I subjected a tissue sample from your surgery to extreme conditions and it vanished instead of decaying. As you arrived on the ship showing signs of recuperating from severe carbon monoxide poisoning, when you were admitted to sickbay a deep tissue scan was run. Your quantum signature was already synced to this universe, Elle." He stepped back.

Elle stared at him, brown wrinkled, a horrible, heavy feeling curling in her gut. "What, what does that mean?"

Kirk spoke up. "That means, Elle, we don't have a way to get you back to your universe. I'm truly sorry."

His hazel eyes were too sympathetic. Elle glanced at Nurse Chapel, at Spock, saw the same expressions, and started to panic. "No, but, you said that, that the, the tissue sample disappeared, right? So just, just do the same thing to me!"

"We could not guarantee you would reappear in your home universe," Spock said gently.

"But there's a chance, right?" 

"Considering the number of possible alternate universes, it is incalculable." 

Elle's eyes burned hot with oncoming tears. "I'd risk it!" she said desperately. "There's still a chance!"

"To do so you would have to essentially die," Spock said, his tone still too gentle. "The risk of you dying before your quantum signature fluctuated is eighty-nine to one."

"I don't care," Elle said, rubbing at her eyes. 

"I _do_ ," Kirk said. "I will not be responsible for the endangerment, or stars forbid, death, of a child."

The tears won the battle. "But I want to go home," Elle said brokenly. She stared at her heroes, the first dynamic duo she'd ever loved. "I, there has to be a way." 

"At the moment, there is not," Spock said quietly, his tone final. 

She crumpled to the floor in hot, angry tears, clutching her still-healing injury. "I wanna go home," she sobbed.

Chapel knelt and wrapped her up in a firm, comforting embrace. "It's going to be all right, Elle," she soothed, rubbing her back. "Captain, can you pass me her next dose of pain meds and a cup of juice?"

He hastened to comply. 

"Elle, c'mon, deep breaths, deep breaths, sweetheart. There you go," Chapel coaxed.

Elle followed her instructions, trying not to hyperventilate or throw up from combined dread and pain. She pulled herself together enough to swallow the pills with some juice, and let Chapel ease her up to sit on the bed. She leaned into the nurse's side and realized belatedly that Christine was wearing pants with her uniform. Huh. _An odd thing to notice_ , her brain observed. She forced her attention back to the Issue. "What's, going to happen to me now?" she asked slowly. She felt numb.

Kirk sat down next to her and met her gaze. "We've never dealt with someone from another universe," he said. "We'll have to report back to Star Fleet command and by extension, the Federation, for identity papers and means to provide you with care. In the meantime, we're three months away from the nearest port besides Coridan and that's no place for you. So for now, until other arrangements are made, you'll stay on the Enterprise."

Elle nodded. She felt drained. "Okay," she said distantly. "Sounds good." She wiped an idle tear from her cheek. "I'd like to be alone now, please."

The three adults exchanged a glance. "I'd like to stay to make sure your side is okay," Chapel said. "I'll stay out in the living space if you need me, okay?"

"Okay." Elle watched Kirk and Spock depart, and Nurse Chapel moved to the sofa outside. The door closed. She lay down, hugging her pillow, and let herself sob. 


	6. Eye-boogers of Grief

She cried herself out and lay there, silently contemplating her life. If someone had asked her a week ago where she wanted to go, Elle would've said Star Trek, no hesitation. But now she was here, actually, properly here, with no way back... another traitorous tear fell onto her pillow. _I miss my mom_.

Turns out she did have more tears. A lot more tears.

"Stop it," Elle told herself angrily, a good half hour later. She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "You could've actually died, cut it out. At least you're alive, here, with Kirk and Spock and McCoy and-" Her voice broke and she buried her face in the pillow, desperately trying not to start sobbing again.

_No. Think of something else. Think of, strategy. Yeah. Yeah. Captain Kirk said that she had three months before they got close to civilization again._ What would happen to her then? Elle frowned. She couldn't even imagine living on 23rd century Earth, in, what, foster care? A boarding school? Heck to the no. If she was gonna be in this universe, she wanted to stay on the Enterprise, with people that she knew. How was she gonna do that?

"Three months," Elle whispered to herself, sitting up. She had three months to figure it out.

She flopped down to stare at the ceiling and was instantly asleep.

When she woke up she felt like her whole body was comprised of eye-booger. She felt crusty and just plain gross. She got up and found a new set of clothes on the chair. Oh yeah. Christine was still here, right? "I'mma shower," she called, and went into the tiny bathroom.

The sonic shower was not comforting. At all. There was a setting for water shower, but it was locked out. The sonic shower did wake her up, though, and Elle felt less like crying by the time she got dressed and went to the living room.

It was not Christine Chapel sitting there. It was Lt. Uhura, wearing pants and a t-shirt and sipping tea from a mug.

"Lt," Elle said awkwardly, taking a step back.

"Hello," she said gently. "I'm sorry if I startled you. Christine had to go on-duty for a patient and asked me to stay in case you needed anything."

"Oh. Thank you. I know you're really busy, I'm fine," Elle told her.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have the time," Uhura said simply.

"Oh." Face to face with this completely amazing woman, Elle was more awkward and uncertain than she'd ever been in her entire life. Talking to Ambassador Sarek had been less awkward than this moment. Of course, she didn't want to _be_ Sarek when she grew up.

"Hungry?" Uhura asked.

Elle nodded even though she wasn't really.

"Do you feel like going to the mess hall or do you want to eat here?"

Elle didn't want to stay here. It was too quiet, and- "Mess hall," she said, hoping for a distraction.

"All right. You do have to wear shoes, though."

"Oh yeah." Elle tugged on the soft sneakers and they walked through the halls. She was gonna have to actually memorize the ship's layout or she'd be lost forever.

"I'm Nyota, by the way," Uhura offered.

"Elle," she replied. "It's really, really nice to meet you. You're so cool." She blushed. _Don't be such a fangirl_ , she scolded herself. _They're not gonna keep you if you're gonna hero-worship them_.

Uhura just smiled. "Are you interested in communications?" she asked.

Elle didn't even really know what the whole job entailed. She dropped her gaze to the carpeted deck. "Kinda." She didn't know how much Chapel had told the lieutenant about her situation ( _don't cry!)_ so she stayed silent. She didn't even know the first thing about communications besides that her new Samsung Galaxy S8 was in a whole other universe and she had no way to communicate with her parents. She pinched herself fiercely to get rid of the stinging tears behind her eyes.

Uhura reached down and held her hand, squeezing it gently. "I think today calls for some soup," was all she said.

They entered the mess hall. It was quiet, a small respite between shift changes. Uhura went over to the food slots and punched in a few things. "We're going to have to get you your own food card," Uhura said, giving her a smile. "Or Dr. McCoy's going to start wondering why I'm eating so much."

Elle couldn't help grinning.

Chicken soup and spiced chai materialized a moment later. Elle took a brief sip as they walked over to their table. It was good, for being made by a computer program. "Cmdr Spock programmed that himself," Uhura said. "The first month aboard, Dr. McCoy got worried and cut off the captain's coffee intake to no more than two cups a day."

Elle stiffled a giggle. "Uh-oh," she said, and took a spoonful of soup absently.

Uhura winked at her. "I think you can guess how difficult it was for our fearless captain. So our dear Mr. Spock, after three days of 'decaf-tastes-nothing-like-regular-coffee-Bones!', stayed up late to program that chai into the synthesizer. You should've seen the captain's face the next day. And McCoy's when he found out."

Elle laughed aloud. She could just imagine. "Did Bones give the captain his coffee back?" she asked.

"After a while," Uhura said, smiling.

They ate, Uhura telling her some lighthearted anecdotes, and Elle finished the last of her chai with a satisfied sigh. "I guess I was hungry," she said ruefully.

After they put their plates in the recycler, Uhura commed Medical to authorize a new food card for Elle.

"I'm sorry, lieutenant, but we don't have any medical records for this individual," the nurse said over the comm.

Uhura blinked in surprise. "Of course, I should have realized. Thank you, nurse. Uhura out." She looked at Elle. "We're gonna have to do some paperwork."

"Sorry," Elle said awkwardly.

"You're fine," Uhura assured her. "Come with me."

They went back to Sickbay. McCoy met them in the main ward. "Lt. Uhura, you have impeccable timing. I was just about to comm you." He looked at Elle. "Ambassador Sarek rushed the paperwork through for you, since you saved his life. You've got full citizenship in the Federation, now."

Elle gulped. "Oh," she said faintly. That was, really permanent.

McCoy gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's a lot, I know, but the hard part is done. We don't have to wait on molasses-coated bureaucrats for the rest of it." He patted the nearest bio-bed. "Let's get your full medical workup so I can add it to your file, and we can issue you a food card and the necessary security authorizations."

Elle glanced at Uhura.

The older woman smiled at her. "I can stay," she assured her, and pulled up a chair next to the bio-bed.

"Thanks," Elle said, blushing.

Full medical workup meant mostly laying still while the bio-bed ran endless scans. And then Nurse Kim drew blood, and went to analyze that. And then McCoy had her do some stretches to make sure her injuries were healing. And then she had to answer some questions on a PADD about her medical history.

"What do you mean, four members of your mom's family died of diabetes?" McCoy demanded, looking startled.

"Yup."

"That's ridiculous," McCoy said. "The twenty-first century was fairly civilized, but this sounds like the Dark Ages!"

Elle bit her lip but she couldn't help laughing at him.

"Medical savagery is not funny," he said, frowning at her.

"Sorry," Elle said weakly, wiping her eyes as she stifled another giggle. "It's just, you say that a lot."

He frowned. "How do you mean?"

"All your time traveling," she said. "And you'll be saying it a lot in the future."

McCoy's frown sharpened. "What do you know about time travel?" he asked.

"The-" Elle suddenly remembered that everything was probably classified to high heaven and lowered her voice. "-black hole. And the Guardian of Forever," she whispered.

McCoy blanched. "How. Do you know. That?"

"I told you," Elle said, getting nervous. "I saw it on the episodes."

McCoy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. But don't mention any of that to anyone, all right? In your universe it might be common knowledge but here it's highly classified."

Elle nodded. "I understand."

"Good girl." He consulted his PADD. "Okay. Physical's done. But you have no immunizations common to this century, so... sorry. You're gonna need a lot of shots."

Elle sighed. "Do I get ice cream afterwards?" she asked.

"If you'd like," McCoy said agreeably. "When you eat dinner later, you'll be able to access your own account. For your diet, you can have anything a normal human can eat, including the selections of alien cuisine that are keyed for human consumption." He squinted at her. "I'm limiting your caffeine and your sugar intake to a standard portion though. So no meals of just candy."

"I wouldn't do that," Elle said, scowling, and added, "a lot."

Uhura snickered.

'A lot of shots' meant ten hyposprays in a row. And in two days she had to come back and get seven more. Elle was not a happy camper.

"Has anyone been a happy camper?" she inquired randomly, to Nurse Chapel, who had taken over again from Lt. Uhura. "Anytime someone says 'that guy's not a happy camper', who's the happy camper they're talking about?"

"Aren't people who usually go camping happy about it?" Chapel asked after a second.

Elle frowned. "Every time we went camping it was raining. I was never a happy camper. Just soggy."

Christine laughed. "You'll have to go camping with Captain Kirk and his group next time we get shore leave, then. He has the best timing - it never rains when he takes people camping."

Elle bit her lip. "Next shore leave?" she asked. "When's that?"

"About four months from now."

Four months. Elle prayed fiercely that she would still be here on the Enterprise in four months. "Are there other civilians here, too?" she asked.

"Only a few, in the science departments," Christine said.

Elle deflated. "Oh." She bit her lip. "Is there, there's no kids, right?"

"No," Christine said gently. "There's not."

"Oh." Elle slumped further into the couch. "Okay." Somehow, she was gonna have to convince Star Fleet to make the Enterprise a ship for civilians. Or at least make an exception for her. _Yeah right,_ her skeptical inner voice declared. _This is real life now, not an episode_.

Christine gave her a hug. "It's all going to work out, sweetheart," she said. "I promise."

Elle just sighed.


	7. Redirections of Mothering

The various shots had definitely made Elle cranky. Cranky and nauseous. She ate five crackers to satisfy Nurse Chapel, promised to stay put during the Gamma shift, and curled up in bed, her side aching and her stomach rumbling. "I miss the internet," she told the ceiling sadly.

The Enterprise, beautiful ship that she was, did not reply.

Elle sighed.

A soft chime sounded.

"Come in?" she called hesitantly.

It was Lady Amanda who walked into Elle's bedroom. "Elle?" she asked, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Lady Amanda!" Elle tried to sit up too fast, winced, and then slowly sat up. "Hi. Sorry. I thought you were Nurse Chapel."

"You're fine, dear," Amanda said, draping the top blanket around Elle's shoulders with a motherly gesture. "I remember when I had to get all my innoculations to move to Vulcan and I thought you could use some things." She pulled a PADD, several data disks, and a laptop computer out of a carrying case. Then she got up, moved to the replicator, and brought back two cups of hot cocoa. "I brought you some classic Earth films and loaded a few books on the PADD," she continued.

Elle cleared her throat. "Um, thank you, but, why, uh, not to be disrespectful, but, why are you bothering about me? Not that I don't appreciate it. I really, really do. Thanks."

Amanda smiled, her eyes twinkling. "There's only so much coddling a Vulcan can endure, so I came to make myself useful, away from prying diplomats."

"Thank you," Elle repeated. "Tell the ambassador, thanks, too, for rushing my paperwork."

"Thank _you_ , dear," Amanda said, reaching out to hold Elle's hands. "You saved his life and the peace of the whole conference. I think he's happier about that than he is his heart condition."

Elle grinned a little bit.

Amanda squeezed her hands. "And, I'm indebted to you personally. Your words made Spock and Sarek actually start talking to each other."

Elle's grin grew wider. "Oh, good. I'm glad."

Amanda picked up the laptop. "You said you were from the past? Do you know how to operate this computer?"

Elle frowned at the menu screen. "...that English looks really weird."

"It's Federation Standard," Amanda explained. "It uses a mix of English and Esperanto with a strict grammar to facilitate learning and using it." She tapped a few buttons and it changed to Earth English. "There you are. At some point though, you will need to learn Standard."

Elle nodded slowly. "So, are you speaking English? You are, right? And so was everyone else?"

Amanda smiled. "Yes, we are. Most everyone speaks their native languages or the most common language of the area, and we only use Standard for large groups of people who don't speak the same language."

"Cool..." Elle made a mental note to ask the Doctor about a universal translator, and focused on the computer. It worked like any standard little laptop, and she easily navigated to the media player. "Where's the disks?" she asked, reaching for them.

"This one is classic, this one is adventure, this one is romcom, and this one is sci-fi," Amanda said.

"What's the adventure one about?" Elle asked.

Amanda raised an eyebrow at her in amusement. "It's not one movie. It's the entire _genre_ of movies."

Elle gaped at the disk that looked like an old fashioned cassette tape. "Woww..." Impulsively, she hugged her. Two seconds later she drew back, embarrassed. "Sorry," she said, blushing. You didn't just go around hugging ambassadors.

Amanda just smiled and drew her into another hug. "I haven't had a good hug in ages," she told Elle, smoothing the girl's hair. "Vulcans don't really go in for hugs."

Elle, in the warm embrace of one of the best moms in the universe (see Cmdr. Spock for character reference), started to cry.

"Oh, my dear," Amanda said, rocking her gently. "Can't you tell me your troubles? How did you get here?"

Elle knew that the wife of an ambassador knew how to keep secrets. So she told her everything, from waking up in cargo bay two to her fear of leaving the Enterprise once it returned to Federation space. She finished with a miserable sniff. "So yeah."

Amanda kissed her forehead and quietly said, "I grieve with thee." She handed Elle a handkerchief and they both took a few sips of hot cocoa before she asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"Convince the captain to take the risk and send me back?" Elle asked, already knowing the answer.

Amanda shook her head. "I will not endanger your life."

Elle sighed. "I didn't think so. You guys really moved past the spirit of the 21st century."

Amanda frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"We're all gonna die young on my Earth," Elle said cheerfully. "It's a fact. Our civilization is self-destructing. Everyone under the age of 30, totally aware our life span is around fifty years. You should see the eight-year-olds in my neighborhood, complete nihilists."

Amanda just stared at her. "That's horrible."

"You only live once," Elle said matter-of-factly. "Except for me, I guess. Maybe I'm part cat. That would be so cool."

Amanda took a sip from her mug. "Do you really know what's going to happen in the future?" she asked.

Elle nodded.

Amanda hugged her. "Everything will work out," she promised. "Now, what movie do you want to watch?"

Elle, thanks to the slight fever from all the inoculations, fell asleep halfway through Indiana Jones and the Ruins of Atlantis.


	8. 21st Century Education is a Joke

_Elle was running through the corridors of the Enterprise. Behind her were two giant dogs at her heels, snarling and snapping. She threw herself forward frantically, but there were no doors and no one to help her. "Help me!" she screamed, panting for breath. "Help me!"_

_The dogs leapt upon her, snarling. Elle screamed-and was suddenly somewhere else. It was a planet, a city, she didn't recognize. People were streaming around her, oblivious to her distress. "Excuse me," Elle tried._

_The man looked at her and spoke in a language she didn't know. He shrugged her off and walked away._

_"Anyone speak English?" Elle asked. No one looked up. She tried, "Habla español?"_

_No one answered. No one looked at her. Elle was alone._

**-/\\-**

Elle jolted awake, tearing herself out of bed with a stifled scream. "Computer?" she panted, holding a hand to her pounding heart. "Time?"

"The time is 0140," the computer replied.

Elle plopped back down onto the bed, shaken. What if something like that happened and she wasn't ready and she died and left to a strange universe? What if coming to Star Trek was a fluke? What if she got sent to, like, Planet of the Apes or something? Or, I am Legend? Or A Quiet Place? Or something she hadn't even heard of?

Sleep was the last thing Elle wanted to do. She grabbed the laptop and the data disks and took them out to the sofa. After a few seconds, she grabbed the top cover of the bed, too, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

She was still there, curled into a marathon-ing burrito, when Spock came by her quarters the next morning. "Good morning," he said gravely.

"Good morning," Elle said, attempting to get out of her nest of blankets. She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair self-consciously. "Sorry, I'm totally _greñuda_ right now. I don't have a comb."

"I do not know the meaning of that word," he said.

"Uh, it means like, have messy hair that's all over the place," she said. She pulled the hair tie from her wrist and put her hair in a messy ponytail. Good enough.

Spock handed her a PADD. "This is a test to determine your educational level and what curriculum you will need."

"Like an IQ test?" Elle asked, taking the PADD.

"It measures not only your intelligence but your areas of interest," he replied.

"I like every subject," she informed him.

"Noted."

"Is this timed?" she asked, frowning.

"No. Time will be a factor but do not feel pressured to complete it within a certain time. There is a pause feature as well."

"Okay, cool."

He hesitated at the door. "How are you?" he asked after a second.

Elle looked down at the PADD, not wanting to freak him out with excessive emotion. "I'm okay," she said finally.

He viewed her bedraggled appearance (hey, three hours of sleep was a respectable amount!) and raised an eyebrow. "On my behalf, I thank you for your actions."

Elle gave him a little smile. "To prevent the death of a person and save others from injury, it was, logical."

Spock's mouth twitched at the corner, and she knew he was basically smiling. He inclined his head and went out.

Elle didn't want to put off the test. She showered, dressed in clean sweats and a T-shirt, and had some oatmeal though, before she started the test. It looked like any other standardized test from her Earth, OAKS or whatever they were calling it, or like, worse. It looked like a PSAT. "Ugh." She knew the educational system of the twenty-third century was far superior to twenty-first century 'Murica, but she wasn't dumb, right? _Right_?

She was there for a solid five hours, slowly working her way through the test. Once she got past the math, and who in the world put _trigonometry_ in a placement test, it was things more like science questions, brain games and logic puzzles, and even a few 3D spatial puzzles that were really cool. Some of the questions had to be psychological too, because there were a few things like, 'draw this' or 'if you had a choice then', and so on. The last quarter of it though was reading and comprehension. Elle, having been homeschooled, was really good at that part.

The PADD let out a soft chime when she finished the test and then it said, 'results sent.'

"Sent where?" Elle asked the PADD.

It did not reply.

Elle put on a movie while she waited for someone to come tell her she needed to be in like third grade or something.

The doorbell rang exactly two hours later.

"Come in," she called.

The door slid open to admit Kirk and Spock.

Elle stood hastily. "Captain?"

"We got your test results," he said, "and wanted to discuss your schedule."

Elle sighed. "I knew it. I'm gonna be in make-up classes till I die, right? I don't know anything about anything in this century."

"Through no fault of your own," Spock reminded her. "Which is why the crew has agreed to take over your education, to help you."

"The crew?" Elle asked. "I thought, like, you had online schooling or stuff."

"Oh there are programs," Kirk said, nodding, "but..." He gave her a shrug and a grin. "It's not that you need a minder, but-"

"I need a minder," Elle finished, "because-"

"Because you are-"

"-I am-"

"-a minor," they both chorused, and grinned at each other in delight.

Spock, his expression otherwise deadpan, rolled his eyes. "Regulations do not permit a minor," he paused when they both snickered, "to be unsupervised in a high-security environment such as an operating starship," he said. "Therefore, with your input, we would like to devise your schedule and your safety training."

Elle blinked. "Safety training?" she echoed.

"What to do in case of a red alert, an intruder alert, a battle, a medical emergency, things like that," Kirk said. "Trust me, not as scary as it sounds."

Elle, who had just been stabbed a few days ago, gulped. "Sounds fun," she said weakly. She gestured to the sofa and scooped up the blankets. "Sorry. You wanna sit?"

They both sat, and Kirk consulted his own PADD. "Of course, this all depends on availability and the state of the mission, but several people have volunteered to oversee different subjects. Spock, of course, as Science Officer, will be taking over your science classes."

Elle turned to stare at the Vulcan, starting to blush. "But don't you already work two shifts and oversee like, two hundred people?" she asked.

"I have deduced that you are an intelligent, self-motivated individual," he replied, "and I do not foresee a single aspect of your education becoming a hindrance."

"Thanks," Elle said, her face on fire at this high praise from one of her favorite people ever.

"Bones has volunteered to take over your health and biology classes," Kirk continued, scrolling through segments on his PADD. "Uhura volunteered herself and her comm department to teach you computer programming and languages. Mr. Chekov is in charge of Mathematics. Sulu has offered to take over your electives, in case you want to do botany, fencing, or anything really. Scotty, of course, won't hear of anyone else teaching you engineering besides himself, or one of his people. And I'm taking your literature and your history classes. Well, one of the commanders in A&A will be in charge of your actual lessons, but I want to discuss assigned reading with you."

Elle gaped at them. Brain-tired, sleep-deprived, she couldn't think of how to react, so she started to cry.

Both officers shifted uneasily. "I knew we should've brought Uhura with us," Kirk muttered to Spock.

Elle heard him, and that made her laugh. She choked back a giggle and wiped her eyes. "No, I'm fine, it's just," she sniffed, "I'm just some random kid, you don't need to worry about me yourselves, you guys are the best crew in the Fleet, you have more important things to do."

Kirk met her gaze, his hazel eyes kind but firm. "Out of all the possible universes for you to have ended up in, you ended up here," he said. "We as members of Star Fleet are out here to serve. You've already shown your own dedication to this ship and its crew. That makes you a part of it. And as such, you're our responsibility, and it is our privilege, to help you. Understand?"

She couldn't help it. She started to cry again.

This time, Kirk was prepared, and he let her cry into his shoulder. "You're going to be okay," he promised.

Elle finally pulled herself together and pulled away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Thank you," she said, and cleared her throat. "Um, anyway. You guys don't actually have a classroom right? So where am I going to stay to be supervised?"

"The yeomen and the maintenance departments have offered to supervise you," Kirk said. "And as a backup, the operations department."

Elle nodded slowly. "I really need to learn the layout of this ship."

Kirk smiled. "That's your first assignment, then. Chief Giotto,"

"Head of security," Elle supplied.

"Yes," Kirk said, "has agreed to oversee your safety training, and based on that he will recommend how much of the ship will be off-limits to you."

Elle nodded seriously. "I understand. I'm going to take it seriously, I promise."

"I know you will."


	9. The Flowchart of Shame (and Security Regulations)

Security Chief Giotto was just what Elle had expected him to be. Calm, confident, strong, and, on the wall in his office, there was a giant chart labeled, "How to Keep Captain Kirk Alive". It had like fifty little flowcharts on it. One of the flowcharts was crossed out and had "Does not account for Mr. Spock's pigheadedness - do not use this plan!" in big red letters.

Elle giggled at that.

"All right, Miss Wilcott," Giotto said, gesturing her to a seat. "The Enterprise is a Constitution-class starship with 430 crew..."

**-/\\-**

"Red alert?"

"Stay put until I get further instructions," Elle replied.

"Intruder alert?"

"Head to the nearest secured section, either Sickbay or Maintenance or my quarters, and hold position."

"And in case of a medical emergency?"

"Nearest comm, comm Medical, stabilize the injured using the first aid skills you haven't taught me yet, and pray," Elle said.

"And Code Gold?"

"Yell for Spock or McCoy and keep the captain alive at all costs," Elle said, grinning impishly.

Giotto laughed. "Good enough."

They recorded her voice print and retina scan. Basically the only places she couldn't go was Impulse control, the main warp regulation area in Engineering, and the armories. Elle had bargained for the bridge-she was allowed as long as she stayed out of the way and did not touch _anything_. Access could be revoked if she didn't behave. Chief Giotto was very clear on that.

Elle was determined to behave-in a way that kept everone alive and mostly uninjured. She had a feeling her name was gonna go up on the flowchart of shame...

**-/\\-**

The next three days, Elle alternated between Yeoman Barrows and Lieutenant Matheson as 'minders' while she learned the layout of the ship. Turns out, there were _lots_ of different recreation rooms besides the common rec area on Deck 7. There was a bowling alley, two swimming pools, an arcade room with replicas of old-fashioned game stations, a simpler version of a holodeck with virtual elements, an actual auditorium with a stage/screen set up for movie nights, and a handful of different gyms. There was no way to be bored on this ship, which Elle supposed was the whole point.

Once she proved she knew how to navigate the corridors without getting lost, Giotto cleared her to walk the decks alone. "We know where you are, anyway, now you've been entered into the system," he said.

Elle paused in the doorway. "Wait, it's tracking me?"

"It's tracking all of us," Giotto said. "How do you think the comm system works when a specific page goes out?"

"Ohhhh... cool."

The next three days after that, Dr. McCoy gave her an intense crash course in First Aid not only for humans but Vulcans, Caitians, and a couple other species that were onboard the Enterprise. "Of course, we'll be covering all this later in your Biology and Health lessions, but just in case," he said.

"Just in case," Elle agreed. You never knew what was going to happen on the Enterprise. "Is it true that the rhythm for CPR is the same as 'Stayin' Alive'?" she asked.

Bones blinked. "Where'd you hear that?"

"I read it somewhere," Elle said, mentally answering, _Tumblr_.

"Don't believe everything you read," Bones replied.

Elle snorted. "You have no idea, Abraham Lincoln."

"What?"

"It's a meme," Elle said.

"What's a meme?"

Elle cleared her throat. "Never mind."

He squinted at her suspiciously, but moved on to how to check a Vulcan's pulse.

**-/\\-**

Once she was certified, Elle had nothing pressing to do. They were still figuring out her school schedule, so Elle decided to turn back into a burrito and watch MacGyver. The one she found in the video library was set in the 22nd century, and MacGyver was a girl from Polynesia, and it was _awesome_.

Halfway through an episode where MacGyver was using an "ancient" hot glue gun to save the world, the chime rang. "Come!" Elle called reluctantly, and paused the episode.

Lady Amanda entered. Her eyes crinkled in amusement. "You look like you're having fun," she said.

Elle glanced around at the empty bowls of popcorn and grapes (pseudo-grapes, not the best, but still), the small stack of tea and hot cocoa mugs on the floor, and her own nest of blankets. "Yup," she said, after deciding not to be embarrassed by normal teenager hibernation. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"I spoke to Spock today," Amanda said. "He told me that you won't be starting your classes for another week or so, until the Enterprise drops the delegates at Babel. I feel partially responsible, since I am one of the people the crew has to keep an eye on. I'd like to help you. Anything you want to learn about this century or its customs, the language, anything."

"Really?" Elle asked.

"Really," Amanda reassured her. "I used to be a teacher before I met Sarek and I rather miss it sometimes."

Elle didn't even have to think about it. "Can you teach me Vulcan?" she asked, and then blushed from the vehemence of her plea.

Amanda looked surprised. "Vulcan? Why?"

Elle felt her ears start to turn red. "I really like Vulcan," she said. "The history, the Reformation, the culture. IDIC. It's cool. And, I totally want to surprise Spock at some point. Maybe distract him when I don't want to do science."

"Sounds logical," Amanda said, eyes twinkling. "Vulcan it is, then."


	10. Cast Out Fear

Over the course of the week, Amanda taught Elle conversational Vulcan and the basics of reading it. In English characters, not Vulcan script. Let's not get crazy here.

Vulcan was hard on the throat. Lots of hard consonants and what Amanda called 'fricatives'. Elle took to drinking hot tea after her language lessons to soothe her throat-fig leaf tea with honey and lemon. It was her mom's home remedy, from Elle's grandma. On the fourth day, Elle was able to drink it without feeling desperately homesick. She only felt terribly homesick, which was an improvement.

"Mene sakhet ur-seveh," Elle repeated slowly.

Amanda smiled. "Good job. Sounded like a native. Now, this is a big one. Arie'mnu."

"Passion's mastery," Elle said, remembering the translation.

Amanda blinked. "How- how do you know that?"

"That's what it means, right?"

"That's not the official translation, though," Amanda said. "You won't find that in a Federation database. How could you possibly know that?"

Elle forced down a blush. There was no way, _no_ way, she was going to admit to owning one hundred and thirty Star Trek TOS novels, including all the ones with Vulcan as its main setting, or having practically memorized the bits of Surak's theology that were in those books, including the concept of mastery over one's emotions. That was fangirling too far. "I read it somewhere," she said finally, completely aware her ears were on fire.

Lady Amanda proved her diplomatic mastery by moving on from the subject and showing her how to actually pronounce it and recognize it in both English/Standard letters and Vulcan script. Then they moved on to the concept of _'cthia_ , or truth. "This is going to come up a lot, especially as you read the works of Surak and of others during the Reformation period. And, everything after that. Which reminds me, here." Amanda handed her a PADD. "These are the writings of Surak, in the translation that Sarek feels is most understandable and accurate for English."

Elle swiped to the title page. 'Translated by Amanda Grayson.' She looked up. "Is this _you_?" She started to grin. "That's so cute."

Amanda just smiled. "Sarek would die before admitting he's biased, but, not to brag, it is the most accurate translation. That's how we met, actually, arguing over a translation."

Elle would die before admitting she knew that because she read their meet-cute love story in a novel. "Awww," she said instead. "You're amazing, Lady Amanda."

The ambassador's wife just smiled graciously. She glanced at the chronometer and stood. "I'm going to meet Sarek for dinner. Join us?"

"No thank you," Elle said politely, standing to see her teacher out. "See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Amanda confirmed. "Good night."

"Night." Elle watched the door close, and plopped back on the sofa, excited to start reading. "You are such a nerd," she told herself mock-disgustedly. "This is why you didn't have any friends."

She spent the night reading and finally fell into an exhausted sleep at 0349.

Elle woke up in a panic three hours later. "Computer, lights!" she ordered, hoping frantically she was still in the same place. "Time!"

The lights came up, iluminating her bedroom in the Enterprise. "The time is 0612, standard ship's time," the computer announced.

She was still here. She hadn't died.

Elle took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and slid back under the covers. She grabbed the PADD again and started reading from where she'd left off.

_Cast out fear. There is no room for anything else until you cast out fear._

She stopped, shaken. "How do you cast out a fear that's legit, though?" she asked the PADD. The text didn't say anything about that, just about mastering your emotions. _What if you didn't know how?_

Elle didn't go back to sleep.

**-/\\-**

Two days later, the Enterprise arrived at Babel. Elle went to say goodbye to Lady Amanda and Sarek. "Thank you so much for everything," she told them, and gave Amanda a hug.

Amanda ignored Spock and Sarek's mildly scandalized looks and hugged her back tightly. "It was my pleasure, Elle. I left my comm address on the PADD so you can let me know how you're doing with your studies. And if you need anything, call me. I mean it."

Elle smiled. "Thank you." She looked at Sarek. "Live long and prosper, Ambassador."

He inclined his head toward her. "Peace and long life, young one."

Elle excused herself to let Spock say his goodbyes in private (private meaning Captain Kirk stayed for moral support), and started to walk back to her quarters. A vague sense of panic hit her as she realized that the Enterprise was going to be headed back towards Federation space, which meant she had less than three months to convince an entire organization that she wanted to stay on the Enterprise.

She entertained the notion of handcuffing herself to the warp core like an old-time suffragette or a protester and giggled to herself. Giotto would have an aneurysm and she would be kicked off the ship for sure.

"Elle!" Kirk called.

She paused and let the two officers catch up to her. "Captain?" she asked.

He was about to say something and then paused. "Are you all right?" he asked instead, frowning at her. "You have some pretty impressive dark circles under your eyes."

"I've been reading a lot," Elle said.

"The recommended amount of sleep for a human teenager is nine to ten hours a night," Spock said, raising an eyebrow.

Elle bounced on her toes awkwardly. "Um, I'll go to bed early, I guess."

"Talk to Doctor McCoy if you're having trouble sleeping," Kirk said, genuine concern on his face.

And tell him what? She was scared of the dark? Scared of dying in her sleep? Not like that hadn't already happened. "I will," Elle said, and could almost feel the whoosh of a _chancla_ coming straight at her from her mother across the multiverse for lying to someone. She wouldn't be surprised if her mother right now wasn't reaching for her sandal in some automatic mom-response. The mental image made her snicker silently.

"Good. Anyway, now that our guests are gone and the ship is ours again, we can start your classes. On the computer in your quarters you'll find your schedule. If it's too much or you want to change the order of subjects, you can talk to Spock and we can find a schedule that works for everyone, all right?" Kirk gave her a stern look. "I don't want you to just agree blindly because you don't want to get in the way. This is all new for you and we want to help you get your feet in this century, not drown you. Understand?"

Elle could see in his eyes, he genuinely wanted her to succeed. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Thank you, captain," she whispered, glancing down.

He patted her shoulder in silent reassurance and said, "I'll see you tomorrow evening, then." And he and Spock moved on down the hall.

**-/\\-**

Elle made a beeline for her quarters and pulled up the school schedule. "All right, what do we got?"

She sighed in dismay. A days and B days. Just like regular school. Even her homeschool program at home had A and B days. And there were no weekends in space! "This is why the gods have abandoned this timeline," Elle groaned dramatically, and got over it. "What do I have tomorrow?"

Federation History with Cmdr Samir, 0900. Ooh, she could sleep in. Or wake up early and do, like, exercise or something. Or, wait. The next slot was Gym, 1030, supervised by Giotto. Oh boy. After that, 1200, lunchtime in the mess hall under general supervision. She got an hour lunch, nice. Then from 1300 to 1430, Math (it didn't say which kind) with Chekov. Then straight to Engineering with Scotty until 1600. Federation Standard language lessons with Uhura until 1730, then dinner in the mess hall. After that, she had free time, although there was a note from Doctor McCoy that she'd better find herself a hobby, and he attached a list of clubs on the Enterprise.

B days were slightly more terrifiyng. Math at 0900, then Gym. After lunch, Elective with Sulu till 1430. Then she had Sciences with Spock (she was going to die). Then at 1600 Biology with McCoy (or Nurse Chapel). And after dinner, she had Federation Literature with Captain Kirk (depending on whether or not he was done with his paperwork).

This whole thing, of course, was dependent on whether or not the officer in question was needed on something higher priority, in which case Elle would be supervised by Maintenance or the yeomen. Or Requisitions. Or Medical. Whoever was free.

"Nothing like a good dose of uncertainty to start the school year," Elle said cheerfully. She glanced again at the list. Nothing said anything about school supplies. Did one need school supplies in the 23rd century? Guess not.

She still had the whole day to do nothing. So, Elle grabbed her sweater and put on her shoes, and went down to the rec deck where the games were. She joined a group watching some old-fashioned British murder mystery that took place on a 22nd century space station. BBC was still around, then.

Elle's eyes lit up as she realized the potential. " _Doctor Who_ ," she whispered, and silently squeed at the possibilities. She reached over a redshirt ensign for the popcorn on the table.


	11. This History Book is Incomplete

" _Chiquitita, dime porque_ ," Elle sang softly to herself, staring at the ceiling in her quarters. It was time for bed, and she _needed_ a good night's sleep, but her mom's favorite lullaby of choice was doing nothing but making her homesick. She curled up on her side and grabbed her reading PADD. There were some mystery novels on there from authors she'd never heard of, all of them carefully filtered for content and language by the computer.

She picked something called 'Maisie Dobbs' and started reading. She fell asleep 148 pages into it.

-And woke up five hours later when her alarm went off.

"The time is 0800," the computer announced calmly and let out two soft, yet piercing, chimes.

Elle stared up at the ceiling, debating if she needed to take a shower or not.

"The time is 0801," the computer announced, a minute later. Two chimes floated through the air.

Elle groaned and closed her eyes. She didn't need to shower.

"The time is 0802," the computer announced. Chimes assaulted the air.

"Okay! Okay! I'm up!" Elle flung herself off her bed. "I'll shower!" She grabbed some clothes from the end of her bed and headed to the bathroom.

She was just about to get in the shower cubicle when the computer announced, "The time is 0803." Ding ding.

Elle let out a screech of frustration. "Computer, go away!" she half-shouted at the ceiling. "I'm awake!"

"The time is 0803 point 5," the computer announced calmly, and chimed. Patiently. Insistently.

"Shut up!"

Nothing. The chiming continued. This was worse than her phone's 'increase volume' feature.

"Ok Google, I'm up!" Elle tried.

Ding ding.

"Alexa, stop alarm!"

Nothing.

"Siri, shut up!"

Ding ding ding.

Elle rushed through her shower, thank goodness for sonic, dressed, and was out the door in five minutes, fleeing the endless chimes.

The door to her quarters closed and the hallway was blessedly silent.

Elle leaned against the opposite wall and sighed in relief. Hopefully there was an auto-cancel feature after five minutes. Anyone who slept through that deserved to be late.

Chekov came around the corner and smiled at her. "Good morning, Elle."

"Good morning, Ensign Chekov," she replied.

He glanced down at her feet. "Shoes are required outside of your cabin," he said. "For safety reasons."

Elle's eyes widened. She'd have to go back into her quarters. "Um..."

"Is there a problem?" he asked kindly.

She blushed hotly. "I can't turn the alarm off," she said sheepishly, and triggered the door sensor.

Ding ding ding ding.

Chekov pressed his lips together, trying to hide his amusement. "Computer, cancel alarm and reset," he said.

A short beep signaled acknowledgement and then blessed, blessed silence.

Elle facepalmed. "I'm an idiot. Thank you so much."

Chekov chuckled and patted her on the back. "You do not have to worry. I have done the same thing before when I was too sleepy in the mornings. I will see you for Math later?"

"Yes, sir."

He gave her a smile and went on his way.

Elle left her quarters. She got two doors down before realizing she had forogtten her shoes. "Uggghhhh, woman!" She turned on her heel and went back.

Finally, shoes and sweater on, she got to the mess hall. As she was standing at the slot, she realized, "Oh no, where's my card?" She patted down the pockets on her sweater. Nothing. She looked up at the ceiling in silent supplication. Today was _not_ her day.

"It's okay," she tried to convince herself as she trudged back to her quarters. "It's your first day of school, you're nervous, you've only been on this ship a couple of weeks, it's not like you should have a _routine or anything, dork_."

The meal card was sitting on her desk. She grabbed it and violently stuffed it into the pocket of her sweater. "Debit card," she muttered under breath as she stalked back to the mess hall. "Pretend it's a debit card, you're not gonna forget it."

She _finally_ got her breakfast - oatmeal with berries and walnuts, orange juice, and a banana. Tray in hand, she glanced around for a familiar face or an empty table. There were no familiar faces since all the Alpha Shift was on duty, so she sat at the nearest empty table.

Elle was two bites into her into her oatmeal when two redshirts from Engineering approached the table, trays in hand. "Can we sit?" the first woman asked. "I'm Melissa. This is Ari."

"Hi," Elle said, giving them a smile.

"You're new, right?" Melissa asked, and took a bite of her breakfast burrito. "Came on with the delegates?"

"Yup."

"Welcome to the crazy," Ari said. "Although, we're gamma shift, so we don't get much crazy."

"You just got off shift?" Elle asked, interested.

"Uh-huh. It's bedtime."

"Doesn't that make you tired?" Elle asked.

"You get used to it," Ari replied, and then yawned. He laughed and amended, "Well, eventually."

Elle nodded slowly. "So what do you do?" she asked. "Can I ask?"

"Sure. Nothing very exciting though. I'm assigned to the plasma intermix console," Ari said.

"I'm the watch officer," Melissa said.

"Cool," Elle said. She finished her breakfast and consulted her schedule on the PADD. She had five minutes to make it up to the Anthropology/Archaeology sciences department. "Oh, I gotta go. See you later!" She waved, and bolted.

She made it with a minute to spare.

The A&A department smelled like dust, although everything was scrupulously clean. There were a few piles of things, though, on separate workstations. "Elle Wilcott?" a pile of binders asked, and a head popped up. "Hello, I'm Commander Jaya Samir."

"Hi." She shook her hand and took the offered seat. "So... how is this going to work?"

Cmdr Samir smiled. "Well, the same way all history classes work, essentially. Lots of reading, watching videos, analysis, and some essay writing and presentations. We'll also be building some scale models of historic ships and places, if you'd like. This department has a whole container of building bricks."

Elle brightened. "Like Legos."

"If those are small interchangeable bricks, then yes," Samir said, giving her a smile. She handed Elle a PADD and a binder with physical paper in it. "I don't know about you, but I like to have both hard copy and electronic files, for when my eyes get tired. Whichever you'd like to use."

"Thank you." Elle flipped to the syllabus. "Pre-Warp Earth to the United Federation of Planets," she read aloud. "Cool."

They dove right in to the lesson. It was a broad overview of the first sixty years of the 21st century. It actually picked up in 2002 with the first interstellar probe, Nomad.

"You already encountered this probe, right?" Elle asked. "Earlier this year?"

Cmdr. Samir raised an eyebrow. "Yes, we did, several months ago. "

Elle nodded. "Cool." She kept reading. "Oh, hey, this trip to Saturn, that was that one Air Force captain's kid, right? When the Enterprise went back in time?"

Samir's eyes widened. "That is highly classified information, how do you know that?"

Elle bit her lip. "I just do. I don't know how much you know about me."

"You're from the past," Samir said. "Did you live through this?"

"No, but I would've been two. Oh, that's so weird. I would have been two years old!" Elle stared at the picture of the crew from the Saturn mission. "Man, that's weird."

Samir was a good Star Fleet officer, she knew when not to ask questions. "Moving on," she said.

They covered the briefest of overviews of the Third World War, and then got to 2061. "This is a landmark year," Samir told Elle. "The year that Cochrane invented warp drive."

Elle smiled. "A very important year."

That was when the actual history reading began.

Samir let Elle read at her own pace and started on some paperwork. Once Elle had done the required reading, the commander set up a video, an interview with Zephram Cochrane himself the day after the warp drive and first contact with the Vulcans.

Elle smiled as she watched the (probably hungover) Cochrane answer the interviewer's questions.

"What was the final breakthrough that led to completing the warp drive?" the interviewer asked.

Cochrane shifted his eyes to the right and looked skyward for a fraction of a second before looking back at the reporter. "I, it came to me like a flash of light," he said.

Elle snorted. "Borg disruptors, more like," she said.

"And then the solution was there in front of me," he continued. "I couldn't have done it without the support of my team-"

"The Enterprise-D," Elle supplied, giggling.

"And they reminded me why we built this in the first place," Cochrane finished.

Elle giggled. "The statue!"

"And now you have the honor of making first contact with the aliens known as Vulcans," the reporter continued.

"First _reported_ contact," Elle muttered.

"How do you feel about knowing we're not alone in the universe?" the reporter asked.

Cochrane shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, it's such a big universe that I knew we couldn't possibly be the only ones out there."

Elle laughed. "No kidding."

The interviewer talked about some more things, and then concluded the interview. The video shut off.

Samir gave her a sideways glance. "Your thoughts?"

"I feel bad for him," Elle said. "That was a rough couple of days. It's always hard to know you're gonna be famous, right? That's a lot of pressure."

"He didn't know he was going to be famous," Samir corrected.

"He did though," Elle replied. "They told him."

"Who?"

Elle realized belatedly that everything that happened in the movie First Contact happened eighty years from now. Or however you frame those tenses. "Um... I think it's classified?" she asked.

Samir gave her an odd look. "All right. The captain told me you were from the past, and yet you know things that no-one from 2018 should know. Have you been doing some extra reading?"

Uh-oh. "Um, no," Elle said. "I watched it... in an episode."

Samir relaxed. "A documentary?"

"Sure."

"Good for you." Samir glanced at the clock. "All right. Time to get going. I'll see you day after next. If you have any questions, comm me or leave me a message through the ship's interwebs."

Elle nodded. "Thank you, Cmdr. Uh, do I have homework?"

Cmdr. Samir frowned at her. "Homework?"

"Things I need to study for next class, or like, a worksheet to do?"

Cmdr. Samir blinked. "Not for this level of education. You don't get homework unless you don't understand it, or you want additional study materials."

Elle smiled. "Nice. See you later."


	12. Nightmares and Education

Gym was, to put it simply, intense. As Giotto explained, A days were going to be actual hand-to-hand and strength training, to ensure that Elle could take care of herself when, not if, she met up with another assasinator (and yes, Elle was being purposely facetious when reminded of her stabbifying event). B days were going to be fun things like swimming, or running through a virtual simulation, or fencing with Sulu, or archery, things like that.

But for now, Elle had to do fifteen pushups. She hated every second of it.

The boxing combinations weren't that bad.

By the time it was lunchtime, Elle was _starving_. She had a quick shower and went to the mess hall.

"Elle!" Uhura gestured her over to her table.

Elle grabbed her tray and sat next to Uhura, and across from Chapel, and Yeoman Barrows. "Hi."

"How is your day going?" Chapel asked.

"Started awful, going great," Elle said cheerfully, and dug into her sandwich with all of her thirteen-year-old enthusiasm.

"What do you have after this?" Uhura asked.

"Uh, Maths with Ensign Chekov."

"That should be fun," Uhura said encouragingly.

Elle nodded behind her mouthful of pad thai. She swallowed and took a sip of her iced tea. "Yup."

She finished eating at the same time as her tablemates, and waved them away. Now what was she going to do for another half hour?

Elle took a quick cat-nap in the observation deck, on one of the armchairs.

**-/\\-**

Math class was held in the corner of the Botany lab, where there was nothing to distract them but the soft whisper of leaves. And the two xeno-botanists on duty, trying to type the genome of some alien plant.

Chekov brought with him a rolling whiteboard and plenty of colored markers. "I have sent you the syllabus for the math and all of the reference videos, in case I do not make sense," he said. "This is my first time teaching someone math."

"You didn't do any tutoring at the Academy?" Elle asked, surprised.

"Well, I did, but not anyone so young," he said, shifting. "Now. I know you are learning the basics of algebra, yes?"

"Yeah. I mean, I like math, but, I don't really understand it. I was homeschooled, though, and my teacher was in a different city. And my dad's not the greatest at explaining math to me." Elle smiled. "And mom would teach it to me weird because she learned it a different way in her school."

Chekov grinned. "And I will confuse you, because I will show you the 23rd century way of learning math."

"Confuse away," Elle challenged.

Strike that. Learning it the 23rd century way was actually _way_ easier. "This makes so much sense," Elle said, checking her answer against Chekov's. "Oh, cool."

"Good job," he said.

She half-held up a hand. "So, what kind of math do you use to navigate the ship?"

"That is a great deal of five-dimensional math," he said.

Elle blinked. " _Five_ dimensions?"

"Yes. Besides x, y, and z, we have to consider _time_ , depending on how fast we are going, which is the fourth dimension."

Elle nodded slowly. "Impulse is less than light speed, right, so there's a time dilation effect? But warp is regular time?"

"Precisely. But warp is also its own dimension, which adds the fifth."

Elle tried to wrap her head around it. "So, wait. Does that mean you can just go in a straight line cuz you, we, are in a different dimension and won't physically run into stuff?"

Chekov shook his head. "You know that each object in space has its own electromagnetic field, and gravity field, yes?"

Elle nodded.

"A warp field interacts with those fields on a quantum level, distorting them," Chekov continued. "So if you warp through a star, it will go nova."

Elle's eyes widened. "That's..."

"Very bad," Chekov finished.

"Yeah."

Chekov smiled. "Once we get past algebra and geometry we will get past three dimensions. We will use a video game to plot courses."

" _Cool_."

**-/\\-**

Chekov walked Elle down to Engineering, since she couldn't go in without a 'minder' clearing the door. "Cmdr Scott?" he called.

One of the lt's minding a console grinned and hollered, "SCOTTY, THE KID'S HERE!"

"AYE, AH'M COMIN', LAD!" came the bellow from somewhere deeper in the section.

Chekov whispered, "Have fun!" and departed.

The lieutenant grinned at Elle. "Welcome to Engineering. You're gonna love it."

Elle grinned back.

Scotty came around the corner, wiping his hands on a raggedy jumpsuit jacket he had on. "Elle, welcome to the heart of the ship," he said expressively. "First things first, and I'll show you 'round."

The tour itself took up half the class period as Scotty explained what each section did and what Elle was absolutely never allowed to touch, ever. Then he led her to the section where he'd come out of. "And this will be your classroom," he said, gesturing expansively.

It looked like a mechanic's workshop had exploded into relatively similar piles of scrap.

"There's nothin' like practical experience, if I do say so myself," Scotty announced, rubbing his hands together. He handed her a small red jumspuit. "So you won't get your clothes dirty," he said.

Elle grinned. This was gonna be great.

**-/\\-**

The Communications department was abuzz with about twenty different conversations going on about fifty different languages. It was a vibrant, expressive atmosphere and it reminded Elle of her family reunions on her mom's side, when people would speak English, Spanish, Spanglish, and the odd bit of Portugese that her second cousins spoke because of their dad.

Uhura poked her head out of her office and waved Elle over. "C'mon in here, sugar, out of the madhouse," she said, smiling.

"You leave your door open," Elle pointed out, settling into the comfy armchair off to the side.

Uhura grinned. "Yes, I do. It reminds me of home. And I can keep an ear out for rising frustration over a translation."

Elle listened. Someone was repeating the same five syllables over and over with different intonations. That guy was gonna freak out eventually.

Uhura requested two cups of tea from the synthesizer slot in the wall and handed one to Elle. "Rooibos chai with honey," she said. "Decaf."

Federation Standard was a mix between English, Spanish, Italian, German, and it had the syntax of Mandarin Chinese. It was always subject-verb-object, no matter what. It was a very logical language, which was the point.

Also, Elle could listen to Uhura speak all day. The chief communications officer just had that kind of voice and tone. "You should read audiobooks," Elle suggested out of the blue.

Uhura laughed. "If I ever retire from Star Fleet, I'll think about it."

"So how many languages do you know?" Elle asked.

"Only fifteen," Uhura said, "not counting programming languages."

Fifteen? Elle gaped at her. "Wow... wait. What programming languages?"

"My job is to supervise the direction of internal communications on the ship, to monitor surrounding subspace for transmissions or odd waves, and to record, encrypt, and send outgoing comms," Uhura explained patiently.

"Oh... so you need a lot of computer programming for that," Elle realized. "I never thought about that."

"Most people don't," Uhura acknowledged. "And much of it, once it's coded, is automatic. But Klingon and Romulan codebreakers are always advancing, so our encryption must improve, too. Plus, I like to fiddle with the packets and see if they can get there faster."

Elle grinned. "Cool."

Uhura left Elle some homework, to listen or watch thirty minutes of something in Federation Standard, to accustom her ear to the sounds and phrases.

And just like that, it was the end of the day and time for dinner.

**-/\\-**

Elle had a sandwich and ice cream for dinner and went down to the rec deck. She had four hours before she had to go to sleep, or try to sleep, and she only had thirty minutes of homework. She really needed to find a hobby.

There were 430 people on the Enterprise. That meant the list of clubs and workshops was long and varied.

Knitting Club... Junior Astronomy Club... nah... Culinary Club... Chess Club... Checkers Club... Kal'toh Club, ooh, wait, no, she needed more math for that... Space Minecraft Club... Elle grinned and clicked on the description. _Space Minecraft, Deluxe version 48.2_. Meets Thursdays in Rec Deck 4, Gaming Tank 3, show up casually or committed, snacks provided.

Awesome. Elle saved a reminder on her PADD.

She found some headphones and started on her language homework. After some digging, Elle found a podcast in Federation Standard about the latest art scene. It wasn't really interesting because she didn't recognize any of the names the person mentioned, but she did understand almost all of it.

Elle went to bed at nine, er, 2100, tired out from the long day.

She woke up at 0100. "I guess this is my life now," she said, resigned, and got up to watch movies in the living room.

**-/\\-**

By the time her alarm went off the next morning Elle was about to ready to cry from exhaustion and frustration. She pulled herself together and went to take a shower. "C'mon, you're a teenager, you can do this," she coached herself. "Where's that endless energy?"

_Dead,_ her subconscious sniped.

"Shut up," Elle told her reflection.

She was so tired, she'd lost her appetite. She choked down a strawberry banana smoothie and went to Math class. Don't ask her what it was about.

Elle almost died in Gym. It was just jump rope, but she kept getting tripped up on the rope and having to stop to catch her breath. "Sorry," she panted, red-faced.

Giotto shook his head. "Hand-eye coordination in teenagers is hard to find," he said, giving her a sympathetic look.

Elle sighed. "Yup."

She almost fell asleep in her grilled cheese sandwich during her lunch break.

"So," Sulu said, smiling at her. "Have you given any thought as to what you'd like to do?"

Elle blinked at him. "I thought you were gonna pick something," she said. Honestly, she'd completely forgotten about it.

Sulu smiled briefly. "Good thing I made a list," he said cheerfully.

Elle scanned the list, stifling a yawn. "Botany?" she asked, thinking about the carnivorous plant from The Man Trap.

Sulu's eyes lit up. "Excellent."

Her exhaustion disappeared as they looked at and discussed the plants in the Botany labs, but it came back in full force as she trudged down to the Science labs.

Spock was waiting for her in Science Lab 3. He opened his mouth to speak, and then raised an eyebrow. He looked, to Elle's eyes, blatantly concerned. "Are you well?" he asked.

Elle gave him a tired smile. "I'm fine," she said, "I just woke up too early today."

His eyebrow didn't go down but he let it go. "Then let us begin," he said.

Spock was absolutely lethal when it came to science, but he had endless patience. A good combination for Elle Stupid-Brain today. "In two days we will do a practical demonstration."

"Yes, sir."

From there she shuffled back up to Sickbay, yawning behind her hand.

McCoy took one look at her and laughed. "Worn out?" he asked, and patted her shoulder. "Come into my office."

Elle was definitely fuzzy-headed as she tried to follow along and take notes on the slides that McCoy had for an overview of Intro to Biology. "Who would win, one worm boi or one slime mold?" she muttered to herself, and giggled.

McCoy snorted. "You tell me."

"The worm?" Elle guessed.

McCoy nodded. "Now tell me why."

"Um... the worm can move away from possible dangers and the slime can only sit there looking dumb?"

McCoy laughed out loud. "Something like that."

Kirk commed Elle before the lesson was over. "We'll have to postpone till tomorrow," he said apologetically. "I have to finish reports."

"No problem, captain," Elle told him.

After seeing worms and mold for an hour and a half, Elle didn't feel like eating, so she skipped dinner and went straight to her room. She drifted in and out of sleep the rest of the evening and night. When she would wake up, she forced her tired eyes to focus on the story she was reading.

Her alarm went off. Gritty-eyed and with a pounding headache, she got in the shower. It did nothing for her headache, but what was she supposed to do about it?

She got coffee with her oatmeal that morning, ignoring Melissa's disapproving glance.

History passed in a daze as Elle watched an interview with the Vulcan who had met Zephram Cochrane. Apparently it was Spock's grandfather but she couldn't see any resemblance.

Elle got to Gym one minute early and sat down on the bench to wait for Giotto.

He came in two minutes late. "Sorry." He gestured to the mats. "All right. Today we're gonna learn how to fall properly."

Elle stood up too quickly and the room spun. Huh. Weird. She took a step forward and the room spun the other way. Her stomach flipped and her vision tipped to the side, the room going black.


	13. Y'all Need Therapy

She woke up in Sickbay. She felt like a piece of gum someone had scraped off their shoe.

Bones was sitting in a chair next to her bedside. "Did you have a nice nap?" he asked, his voice deceptively mild. "Considering you haven't slept more than four hours a night in the last two weeks, I'm surprised you didn't keel over sooner."

Elle closed her eyes. "Sorry."

He folded his arms. "All right, kiddo. Let's have it."

She tried to sit up, but his stern glare stopped her. She sighed and pulled the blanket over her chin. "I don't know," she mumbled.

"You don't know?" He leaned forward. "Have you always had insomnia?"

Elle shook her head. "No."

He frowned at her, his blue eyes genuinely concerned. "Work with me, kiddo. I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong."

She shuffled further up the bed to sit up and picked at her blanket. "I don't, it's dumb."

"If it's affecting your health, it's not dumb," he said gently.

Elle's eyes started to sting. "I died in my sleep," she choked out. "I died, in my bed, at my house, with my parents two doors down. I can't, I don't want to do that again. What if something goes wrong and I die again? What if I end up somewhere horrible? Somewhere I don't know anyone, or anything, and what if I'm alone and there's no one I know and, and-" She started to hyperventilate as she sobbed in a blind panic, terror overwhelming her exhaustion.

Bones' eyes widened and he stood up quickly. "Nurse!" he called. He leaned forward to meet Elle's eyes. "Elle? Listen to me, sweetheart, it's going to be okay. Right at this moment, you're safe," he said gently. "Can you breathe for me? C'mon darlin', breathe in. Hold it, good. Breathe out. Slowly. There you go. Let's do it again. Shh, you're okay. Breathe in. Breathe out."

Elle could barely see through the haze of exhaustion and tears and panic. She knew at some point Chapel had arrived and given her a hypo of something that had eased her frantic breathing.

"There you go," McCoy encouraged, once Elle had stopped hyperventilating.

She couldn't stop crying, too tired to try and control herself.

"Elle?" Chapel asked gently, touching her knee lightly to get her attention. "Can I sit next to you?"

Elle jerked her head in a nod, and Christine sat next to her on the bed. Elle leaned into the nurse's shoulder and the gentle arm around her shoulders made her start crying harder.

"Hush, now," McCoy soothed gently, his blue eyes shining with empathy. "I'm so sorry, Elle. I should've noticed sooner."

She shook her head silently. It wasn't McCoy's fault.

At some point she fell into a mostly-sleep, and she was vaguely aware of Chapel tucking her into the bed under a warming blanket.

"Let's keep her for observation for twenty-four hours," McCoy said. "And get a nutrient drip in her, I don't like the look of her blood chemistry."

Elle didn't hear Chapel's reply.

When she woke up some time later from a dreamless sleep, Kirk and Spock were speaking to McCoy a few feet away. "-all my fault, Captain. I should've insisted on counseling straightaway instead of trusting she was fine," McCoy said, remorse on his face. "I checked her cabin monitors just now. She hasn't slept a full night since she arrived."

Spock had one eyebrow raised. "I should have insisted on the conversation," he added. "I knew she looked overly tired for one night of missed sleep."

Kirk shook his head. "We all should've realized that dumping a thirteen-year-old two centuries from home wasn't going to be as seamless as she was pretending."

"Not your fault, Jim," McCoy said, putting a hand on his arm. "I don't think anyone anticipated this situation in the Star Fleet handbook."

"What do we do now, Doctor?" Kirk asked.

"Counseling and therapy," McCoy said. "I'm not a child psychiatrist but we're too far out to get a specialist."

"You did wonders with Peter," Kirk said, voice low. That was his nephew, right? "I have the highest faith in you, Bones."

Spock noticed the change in Elle's breathing pattern and turned to face her.

She sat up in the biobed, still feeling a little woozy.

The three of them came over and McCoy helped her sit up.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

Elle nodded silently and drew her knees up to her chin. "I'm sorry."

Kirk squeezed her arm gently. "It was our oversight. I'm sorry, too."

She nodded.

McCoy shooed the other two out. "All right, no disturbing my patient. You can come back tomorrow." He pointed at Elle. "You're going to stay here overnight, so I can keep an eye on your neurochemistry, and we are going to have a talk. If you don't feel comfortable with me, you can talk to Nurse Chapel, but as your doctor, I have to insist you talk to somebody."

Elle didn't want to talk to Chapel.

The two of them had a good long talk and McCoy helped her understand that fear in response to an unpleasant experience was perfectly human and there was no shame in needing help.

Knowing something intellectually and knowing something in your actual heart were two different things. Elle still didn't want to go to sleep that evening.

"Listen, darlin', if you don't go to sleep I'll have to sedate you," McCoy said gently. "Please go to sleep."

She hid her face in the pillow. "I'm trying," she said, voice muffled.

He smoothed her hair and left her alone.

Elle fell asleep sometime later, but woke up in a panic four hours later when she didn't recognize the darkened sickbay.

"You have been sleeping for four hours and two minutes," Spock's voice informed her calmly. "You are still onboard the Enterprise, and have not left it in that time."

She turned to the other side of the bed and found him sitting in a chair, doing some work on a PADD, the tablet casting a blue glow on his green features. "Spock?" she asked blearily. "What're you doing here?"

"Dr. McCoy asked me to 'keep an eye on you', as I am the only one capable of forgoing sleep at this time," Spock replied calmly.

A wash of guilt hit her. "I'm sorry," she said, rubbing her face. "You don't have to stay."

He regarded her steadily for a few moments. "You know us, from your universe," he stated.

"Yeah."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then you know this crew will do anything we can to help you," he said, his dark eyes compassionate. He raised one eyebrow, perfectly deadpan. "Also, if I did not stay, Doctor McCoy would feel it was his right to escort me to the nearest airlock."

Elle laughed out loud and finally relaxed into her pillow with a final snicker. She pulled the blanket up to her nose. "You'll stay?" she asked, feeling awfully childish for asking.

"I will stay," he promised. " _Shom-tor_ , _ax'nav_." Go to sleep, young one.

Vulcans did not break promises.

Elle went to sleep.


	14. Vectors and Darts

When she woke up, Spock was still there. He had a small stack of PADDS on the floor by his bed, and he was drinking a cup of tea. "Good morning," he said, giving her a nod. "It is 0805. You slept eleven hours, twenty minutes, and three seconds."

Elle stretched until her back popped and sat up. "Can I go now? I feel, like, a lot better."

Spock stood. "That is the province of Dr. McCoy."

"I heard my name?" Bones asked, strolling into the ward. "Good morning, Elle. You look alive again." He took her pulse the old-fashioned way. "How do you feel?"

"Better," she admitted.

"Good, I'm glad."

He let her go under strict instructions to do nothing but eat and take it easy today. "I've left a message with all your teachers today, nothing stressful, no pop quizzes. Instead of Biology class today we'll talk, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now go on, get some breakfast. No coffee."

"Yes sir."

Spock, assured of her good health, left with a quiet nod.

Elle went to the mess hall, ate, and went back to her quarters and showered. It'd been a full day since she collapsed. Most of it, she'd been asleep. And she really did feel a lot better. "You're an idiot," she told her reflection, without heat.

Chekov greeted her with a smile and no judgement. "Today, we are going to do something fun," he said. "Vector calculations." He held up a dartboard. "With practical exercises."

Elle grinned.

When she went to gym, she and an ensign from Security ("I wanted to be a ballerina before I entered Star Fleet") did some low-intensity stretching and then watched a couple music videos to analyze (read as: nitpick) on their choreography.

She did nothing in Engineering but polish spare parts, something that was oddly soothing. Lunch was chicken noodle soup and crackers, and she played Battleship with a Caitian ensign. Then she and Sulu planted thyme seeds in hydroponics.

She and Spock spent ninety minutes watching the Vulcan equivalent of Mythbusters. It was actually really entertaining, watching two earnest Vulcans debate (and prove) whether or not a shuttle could be jumpstarted by potatoes.

Biology class became a long talk about nighttime. McCoy recommended she create a good, relaxing bedtime routine and stick to it so she could look forward to it instead of dread it. And then he showed her the cabin monitors.

"All of the quarters on the ship are equipped with sensors," McCoy said. "They measure the internal life support readings to keep them at your preferred settings. They measure air ionization. And they measure the gases in the air, including carbon monoxide." He patted her hand. "If anything rises above safe levels, alarms go off in both the cabin, security, and medical."

She stared at the sensor readout in front of her. "Okay," she said, and something in her relaxed.

"All right." McCoy glanced at the chronometer. "It's dinner time and after that you and Jim are gonna talk about books. And after that, I expect you to stick to your bedtime routine. But if you can't get to sleep by midnight, 2400 hours, I want you to come to Sickbay and get a light sleep aid, understand? There's a non-habit-forming one that's approved for young teenagers, and there's no shame in needing help to sleep. Okay?"

Elle nodded. "My mom would give me warm milk with cinnamon and honey," she said.

McCoy smiled. "Warm milk and a good book. That's as good a remedy as any," he agreed.

"Thanks, Doctor."

Elle ate some pretty good fettuccini alfredo and then went to meet the captain in the Observation Deck. After dinner for the Alpha Shift, there were quite a few people scattered about, relaxing and talking in small knots. One person was definitely asleep, taking a nap before they went back on duty.

She found the captain in an alcove with two overstuffed armchairs and a reading lamp.

"Elle," he said, giving her a smile. "Have a good dinner?"

"Yup." She sat across from him.

He handed her a PADD. "Swiss Family Robinson," he said cheerfully. "Ever read it?"

"Nope," she said, swiping to the first page.

"Oh good, this'll be fun. The basic story to Swiss Family Robinson, of a family cast away and managing to thrive, is actually a popular style of literature from the 21st and 22nd centuries as humanity expanded out to the stars."

"So we're reading the original?" Elle asked, smiling.

"You got it." He grinned at her and slumped back into his chair. "You want to read first?"

She shook her head. "You?"

He cleared his throat dramatically, making her snicker, and started, "Chapter One."

They took turns reading for a good forty minutes, and then discussed what they'd covered. There were only a couple words Elle didn't understand, but Kirk helped her figure them out by analyzing the context of the sentences and the root words in the unfamiliar words themselves.

It wasn't until they were both comfortably quiet, staring out the window to the stars, that Kirk brought up yesterday's drama. "I'm sorry. Not just as the captain of this ship responsible for your well-being, but as someone who has been where you are. I'm sorry I didn't realize what you were going through and I didn't even think to check. I'd like to say it was because of the stress of the mission, but I won't make excuses. So, I'm sorry."

Elle shifted uncomfortably. "You had a lot on your plate and I wasn't being very rational either," she said, picking at a seam on her sleeve. "It wasn't your fault, at all." She glanced up at him and then back down, his gaze warming the top of her head. "And, my experience wasn't as bad as yours, so, I don't blame you for that either."

He inhaled sharply. "What do you know about my experiences?" It came out sharper than he'd intended and he winced.

Elle winced, too. _Me and my big mouth_. "Um, it was, an episode. With the theater group. So I know, and Riley, and yeah. It's classified, isn't it? I won't say anything, I swear."

He gave her an odd look. "You seem to know a great deal of classified information, Elle."

She shrugged sheepishly.

He let it go with only a thoughtful look.

**-/\\-**

McCoy had authorized her quarters for water showers as well as sonic, citing medical reasons.

Elle took a warm shower, put on pajamas, brushed her teeth, and read a book and listened to soft piano music while she drank chamomile tea with honey. Then she went to bed.

She couldn't sleep. She just wasn't tired-she'd taken it maybe too easy, today?

The longer she lay there the more awake she got. Time for Plan B.

Bones had recommended the Kirk Method: walk the ship till you get sleepy and then pass out like a good little human who needs to get up the next day, and in the meantime you get smiles from people.

She put on her shoes and pulled on a sweater over her pajamas. Then she meandered her way through the ship, making sure to go to every corridor of every deck, saying good night to every crewmember she passed. It was therapeutic in a way, seeing these Star Fleet officers calmly going about their lives.

She eventually wandered down to the Science Labs, and poked her head into an unlocked one. A familiar blue-shirted Vulcan sat on a stool at the high table, doing something to a row of pipettes.

"Come in, _orensu_ ," he said, without turning.

"It's only my third day," she protested. "I haven't really learned anything yet."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Except, apparently, how to speak and understand the basics of the Vulcan language," he said.

She blushed up to her ears. "Your mom told you," she accused.

"She could not lie after I inquired on the topic of your studies with her," he replied.

Of course not.

"Would you like to continue learning the language?" he asked.

She grinned. "Of course!"

"Then we will add study sessions as your schedule and mine permits," he said. "As for now, you should be in bed, Elle."

She sighed. "I know, but I'm not sleepy."

He raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to observe the results of the experiment with me?"

"Totally," she replied.

"Then, as the captain would say, pull up a chair," Spock said dryly.

She dragged over one of the stools and sat on it, leaning her elbows on the table. "So whatcha doin'?"

He explained. Something about chemical reactions in rock samples, or half-lives, or something.

Elle watched him work, carefully adding drops of stuff to the vials of the other stuff, and watched tiny bubbles form and fizz to the top of the tubes. "Aren't you cold?" she asked randomly, after a good half hour of silence.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I am capable of maintaining optimum internal temperatures for a Vulcan," he replied.

She blinked. "But, like, it's cold in here. For you. Wouldn't you rather turn the heat up?"

"I have grown accustomed to the temperatures the majority of the ship prefers," he replied.

This wasn't a straight answer. "I'm cold," Elle replied, curling into her sweater.

Spock gazed at her steadily for a moment, and then raised his voice. "Computer, raise room temperature five degrees."

The heating kicked in and a wash of warm air blew over them.

Elle could _see_ Spock's shoulders relax a fraction, and she grinned into her sleeve. "Has Captain Kirk installed the heater vent under your console yet?" she asked.

He turned wide eyes on her. "How do you know of this event?" he asked.

"I just do," Elle said, mentally answering, _fanfic_. _And because James T. Kirk is awesome like that_.

Spock gave her a suspicious eyebrow and went back to his careful experiment.

Elle, now pleasantly warm, propped her chin on her hand and watched him.

She didn't remember falling asleep.

The next thing she knew, a calm voice was informing her, "Elle, it is time to return to your quarters."

She woke up, barely, and stumbled to her feet, following the science officer in front of her. "Did you finish?" she asked, mumbling the words into her yawn.

"I did," he replied. "You missed the chemical change. The rock solids turned into gas."

"Aw," Elle said, yawning again.

Suddenly they were at her quarters. Spock left her at the door, and Elle stumbled into her cabin. She kicked off her shoes and fell onto the bed, thinking about evaporating rocks.


	15. Meditation

The next day passed without incident. Giotto taught her how to climb a Jefferies Tube ladder (facsimile, with safety harnesses or McCoy would've killed them both) with only one leg, and then with only one arm.

But still, at the end of the day, Elle couldn't fall asleep in her quarters. Maybe it was the whole fear of dying thing, maybe she was homesick. The steady ache in her chest was going away though, diminishing by bits and pieces.

She ended up in the Science Labs again, watching Spock code something into the computers. The keyboard was in Federation Standard but the code he was outputting was Vulcan, which meant he must be using the transliteration system and just didn't need the keyboard overlay that would tell you which button was for which letter. Neat.

Elle dozed off to the soft tap-tap-tap of keys, and went to bed once Spock had finished his programing.

The next morning, he approached her at breakfast. Which meant he was late for the bridge, because Elle's breakfast meant Alpha Shift was already a half-hour gone. "Elle."

"G'morning, Cmdr," she said, giving him a small smile.

He sat across from her. "If you are not averse to it, I would teach you to meditate in the Vulcan manner," he said. "It will be much more efficient for your developing circadian rhythm."

She blinked. "For real?" Then she realized. "Oh. I'm getting in the way, aren't I? Sorry. I can stop interrupting you."

Spock gave her what would be an exasperated eye-roll in anyone else. "Elle, that was not what I said. I am offering to guide you in meditation techniques that will aid you in falling asleep, as well as using the accompanying breathing exercises to calm yourself from any future anxiety attacks."

"Oh." Elle bit back a delighted shout. "That would be great, Commandr Spock, thank you."

"I have asked Lt. Uhura to join us, as she has also expressed interest in learning," he added.

Elle nodded. "Logical."

His eyebrow quirked. "Precisely. Until this evening, then." And he went off to the bridge.

Elle waited until he'd left to let out a fist-pump and give a quiet whoop of 'awesome!'. She steadied herself. Okay. Okay. Be cool. Don't go all fangirl on him. Not even full humans appreciated overt fangirling.

She made sure to clean her room after dinner.

**-/\\-**

"Imagine the surface of a lake in the early-morning stillness. Inhale. Exhale slowly, making sure you do not disturb the surface of the lake."

The quiet instructions continued, allowing Elle to quiet her mind's busy thoughts flitting this way and that. Gradually, she relaxed.

"That is enough for today," Spock said, his tone calm.

Elle opened her eyes and looked over at him. She stifled a yawn. "How'd I do?" she asked.

"You did well," he said. "It might be useful to take an esper rating as we move forward."

"Esper rating?" she echoed.

"ESP," Uhura explained, stretching her arms above her head and stifling a yawn. "Your placement tests showed a high level of empathy and if you're really good at this you might actually not be psi-null like most humans."

"Present company excepted," Spock added, raising an eyebrow at the comm officer.

She just grinned at him.

Elle only got one thing out of that. If she wasn't psi-null, then- "Does that mean you can teach me the nerve pinch?" she asked, maybe a little too eagerly.

Spock raised an eyebrow at her.

"It'd only be logical to defend myself, since most of my opponents will be larger than me," Elle said, giving him her best puppy-eyes.

Uhura put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. "She's got you there, commander," she said.

Spock deliberately did-not-roll his eyes. " _If_ you place high enough on the esper scale, I will teach you the nerve pinch," he agreed.

Elle didn't squee. She didn't. Instead she bowed her head and said, "Thank you."

Uhura laughed again and stood up. "Thank you for the lesson, Mr. Spock." She kissed Elle's cheek when the latter stood up. "See you tomorrow, sugar."

"Night, lieutenant," Elle replied.

"I shall see you tomorrow," Spock told Elle. "Rest well."

"Sweet dreams," she said.

"Vulcans do not dream," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"You do," she said.

He paused in the doorway. "How do you know this?"

"I just do." She couldn't remember if it was a novel, a fanfic, or an episode.

He raised an eyebrow but only said, "Good night, Elle."

She went to bed. This time, she did the breathing exercises, _in, out, in... out..._ until she fell asleep.


	16. Classified Shmashified

It was a quiet week that followed. Spock continued teaching Elle and Lt. Uhura the basics of Vulcan meditation. He had her take an epser rating.

"Interesting," Spock said. "You are, in fact, the second highest rating for the humans on this ship." He gave a tiny frown. "I will have to teach you basic shielding techniques as well, in case of psychic attacks on the ship."

Elle nodded. "Cool. So what does that mean? Can I do cool stuff with it?"

"If by 'cool stuff' you mean be able to pick up and read others emotional states and with practice their intentions, then yes, you can do 'cool stuff'," Spock said, his tone amused.

Elle grinned.

The next day in Federation History, they graduated to the 22nd century. "2117," Cmdr. Samir said. "The year Zephram Cochrane disappeared."

They read the information packet and watched a news interview with Zephram's friend Lilly Sloane about the loss.

"Nobody knows what happened to him," Samir said.

"But, you just saw him," Elle pointed out.

Samir looked at her blankly.

"You did though," Elle said. "Before the delegates and stuff, Captain Kirk encountered him and the gas cloud lady."

Samir frowned at her. "I don't remember that."

"They were on that shuttle trip," Elle said.

Samir's eyebrows went up. "That shuttle trip was classified," she said. "Nobody knows what happened on that trip besides Commissioner Hedford dying."

"Oops." Elle bit her lip. "Sorry. Never mind. I know nothing."

"Hm." Samir clearly didn't believe her but they moved on.

Early 22nd century history was actually really interesting, as humanity carefully moved out into space, building colonies (successful or not) and generally sticking their noses into things. The first warp 4 ship, the Enterprise NX-01, featured heavily.

"We're not going to go into the technological advances," Samir told her. "I'm leaving that for Mr. Scott, who will be happy to cover it in detail. Instead we'll be focusing on the socio-political changes and discoveries that Archer and his crew made."

Elle nodded, excited.

They were okay until they got to the Xindi. "Where's the bit about the war?" Elle asked, flipping through the pages in the PADD.

"What war?"

"The Temporal War," Elle said absently. "They were being recruited, and then being killed off so they couldn't be recruited. Is there additional reading?"

Samir stared at her steadily. "The history books don't say anything about that."

"Oh." Elle picked at a hangnail. "Okay."

They moved on.

"Archer was instrumental in establishing semi-peaceful relations with the Klingons," Samir continued, and put up a picture of Archer and the Klingons. They had ridged foreheads. "Captain Archer was also instrumental in making the Klingons retreat behind their own borders and stop their expansion efforts."

"Because of the virus," Elle said brightly. "They lost their forehead ridges and went off to sulk."

Samir looked at her. "What?"

"The Augments," Elle said.

"The who?"

Elle sighed. "These textbooks have holes in them," she complained.

Samir raised an eyebrow. "Considering they're the actual textbooks put out by the Federation, I don't think so."

"But they don't have any good stuff," Elle said.

Samir huffed a laugh. "They are kind of dry, aren't they?"

Not what she meant, but okay. "Yeah," she said.

"Next time we'll go over the Romulan War," Samir informed her.

"Sounds good," Elle said, standing up. "Thanks."

The rest of the day flew by, and after dinner Elle went to Minecraft Club. It was made up of dorks from Engineering and Ops that liked to build things. The club captain was a Rigelian lieutenant that liked to make things out of marble just so she could release swarms of monsters on them. She called it 'post-modern' dystopic art.

Elle was steadily working on building a treehouse-world. She finished making a spiral staircase up a tree trunk and called it a day. "See you guys," she said, standing up.

"Night," came the general chorus.

Elle went through her routine and settled in bed to sleep. She slept for a solid eight hours.

**-/\\-**

The next evening, Elle had Literature discussion with Captain Kirk. She met him in their usual spot in the Observation Deck, and frowned. He was waiting for her, a distant look in his eyes. "Elle," he said.

"Captain." She curled up in her chair and toed her shoes off. "What's up?"

"Your history teacher has some concerns," he started.

An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. "What?"

He handed her a PADD. It was a list of things from the class that Elle had said, from the very beginning, written down with little question marks.

"Yeah?" Elle asked, handing it back. "I said that stuff, but it's just facts. I don't, sorry, I don't get it. What'd I do?" She winced. "Oh. Is this about the Cochrane thing? Was that classified?" That was written on there, too.

"Partly, yes," Kirk said. "The thing is, there is no way for you to know any of these things. The bit about the Temporal War, _nobody_ should know. The only reason _I_ know is because Archer left logs for the captains of the Enterprise in case we got more visitors to the flagship. And the Augments and this Klingon virus, _nobody_ knows why the Klingons lost their ridges."

"Somebody at Star Fleet does," Elle pointed out.

"And the time travel incident with Cochrane?"

"That hasn't happened yet."

"And your insight into Spock's family history?"

Elle sighed. "I told you. I've seen all the episodes, read a lot of the books, and a lot of the stories. This stuff, and what's going to happen, is common knowledge where I come from."

Kirk sighed. "So you don't know what's classified and what's not."

"Um, no?"

Kirk scrubbed his face with his hands. "Okay. We'll have to take that into consideration."

Elle gulped. "What consideration?"

"Star Fleet is attempting to figure out what to do with you," Kirk said plainly. "There's never been someone from another universe. Your paperwork went through because Ambassador Sarek leaned on the Council, but once you get back to Earth..."

Elle huddled into the chair, fear gnawing at her gut. "What's gonna happen to me?" she whispered.

"Frankly, you were going to go into foster care," Kirk said. "I was lobbying for you to go to my parents, because you have some passing familiarity with them, don't you?"

Elle nodded.

"But, I don't think that's going to work," he continued. "How much do you know about the future?"

"A lot," Elle said. "The rest of your five-year mission, the next fifteen years. Eighty years from now, the Enterprise-D's adventures. Deep Space Nine. Stuff from the Delta quadrant."

Kirk sighed. "Of course you do. How much of it is time travel? Don't tell me specifics."

Elle grimaced. "A lot."

"Klingon and Romulan cultures?"

Elle bit her lip. "A lot more than time travel."

"And things about taking over ships? Or bad decisions that superior officers make?"

Elle nodded.

Kirk sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry," Elle told him.

"It's not your fault," Kirk said. He sighed again. "I was resisting the admirals on this because you're only thirteen years old, but we're going to have to debrief you for what you know of this universe up to this date."

Elle frowned. "Why?"

He paused and shook his head. "There is some, concern," he started delicately, "that you might be too classified to exist outside a Star Fleet environment. If anyone ever got a hold of what you know..."

"What?" Elle could just see it, a lifetime of living on a drab Starbase, or a Star Fleet safehouse, or something. "Like, I'd be on house arrest or something?"

"Nothing so drastic," Kirk said. "Security, of course, and-" he sighed. "Yeah. House arrest, basically. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Elle said. "Well, it's a little bit your fault. If you weren't so interesting there wouldn't be a TV show, so..." She was rambling. Shut up. She took a deep breath., the wheels in her mind turning at a thousand rev per minute. "Can I, what if, would it be okay if I stayed on the Enterprise?"

Kirk's jaw dropped and he started to shake his head. "It's not safe," he started.

"I know, I've already been stabbed," Elle said dryly. "But that's not the point. You said it yourself, I'm too classified to live outside of a Star Fleet environment, and there's no way I'm going to stay with people I don't know. And, the only things I really know center around your ship and your crew and your adventures." She took a deep breath, excitement rising as her plan started to take shape. "Look, in eighty years they'll authorize families, civilians, on Star Fleet ships. The Enterprise-D will have a thousand people on it, half of them spouses and kids. What if we tell the admiralty that, and have me be the guinea pig? I'm a prototype. Does the morale of the crew go up when there's civilians around? Does it go down? is it safe? Is it not?"

"That's a completely crazy idea. You're not related to anyone here."

"That's not the point," Elle said, "duh. It just has to keep me on the ship." She paused. "That is, if you want to keep me here. Sir." She twisted her fingers together nervously.

"You wouldn't be around kids your age," Kirk said.

"I was already not around kids my age," Elle reminded him.

"Enterprise very rarely makes it to safe shore leave locations, you couldn't leave the ship," Kirk warned.

"You have the proto-holodeck bits and I'm a nerd anyway," Elle retorted.

"It's dangerous," he said.

Elle raised an eyebrow at him, Spock-style. "So is sitting in a safehouse, waiting to be kidnapped. At least out here I'm on the move and if anyone wants to get at me they'd have to go through a lot of trouble first."

Kirk let a smile quirk his lips. "You have a point," he said, but he didn't give anything else away.

"Please?" Elle asked, giving him her best puppy-eyes.

"I don't want to sacrifice your safety or your mental health just to make things easier on us out here," he said, very solemn.

Elle bit her lip thoughtfully and looked up at him, meeting his gaze. "If I knew what you were going through out here and I couldn't help, I'd feel awful," she told him.

"I will take it under consideration with the senior officers," he replied. "If everyone agrees, we will propose it to the admiralty."

Elle hugged him impulsively. "Thank you, captain!"

He patted her back. "Don't thank me yet, kiddo. Nothing's been decided." But he looked pleased. Then he sobered. "I do still have to debrief you, though."

Elle nodded. "Is that our literature lesson then?"

"Sure."

Being debriefed was a huge process. First, Elle couldn't really remember the names of episodes or anything concrete unless she was reminded of it, given that Star Trek: Enterprise wasn't her most favorite series. So, debriefing consisted mostly of scrolling through the NX-01's mission files and stopping when one caught her eye, and then expanding on the details. Everything she said was being recorded by the ship's computer on an encrpyed data disk.

It took _hours_ , and Elle was half-asleep by the time they got through the five years of the show. "And we haven't even started on this Enterprise yet," Elle said, stifling a yawn.

Kirk yawned in reply. "Let's call it a day and pick it up in the morning," he said.

"Okay. Night, captain."

"Good night, Elle."

She barely made it to her quarters before passing out.

**-/\\-**

Elle woke up late the next morning. It was fine. There was a message on her computer from the captain, letting her know that school was cancelled for the day on account of debriefing, and to meet him in the conference room once she was awake and done with breakfast.

Ele hurried through her shower and practically ran to the mess hall. She replicated a couple of pieces of peanut butter toast and ate them on the way to the conference room.

Kirk was there, reviewing transcripts, and he looked like he hadn't slept a wink. "They're confirming the data," he said, and cracked his neck. "There are a couple admirals who want to house you at HQ."

Elle made a face. "I'd rather be stabbed again than live in politics central."

Kirk laughed but he didn't disagree. "Shall we?" he asked, taking a sip of coffee.

Elle glanced at the recorder and frowned, thinking about what she knew was the Enterprise's first mission out of spacedock. "Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Was your dad a security officer on a starbase for a while?"

Kirk's eyes narrowed. "Yes..."

"And he got you a sailboat for your tenth birthday?"

"Yes..."

Elle bit her lip. "And he's an advisor for some Star Fleet ambassador botanist?"

"Yes... what is this about?"

"The Enterprise, this Enterprise's, first adventure." She reached out and patted the table.

"My father's never been on the Enterprise."

Elle shrugged. "Not exactly."

Kirk sighed. "I'm gonna need more coffee."

By the time they got to Journey to Babel, the whole day was over and Elle's voice was practically gone, her throat sore from speaking so much.

"I have half a mind to delete this whole tape," Kirk said, after a long moment of contemplative silence. He stared into his coffee cup. "I wasn't going to let you stay," he said. "But I've changed my mind. You know us too well to go anywhere else."

Elle suppressed the urge to do a victory-dance. "Thank you, captain," she said formally, and ruined the effect by yawning.

He reached over and ruffled her hair. "Now to convince the senior officers and HQ."

"I trust you," she said simply.

He flashed her a smile. "Thank you, Elle. Now, go rest. Bones'll kill me if you lose your voice."

She gave him a smile and headed to the mess hall. She replicated herself a big mug of chamomile with honey and lemon to soothe her throat. There was nothing to do but wait.

The page came a moment later. "Senior officers to the briefing room."

Chekov, in the corner of the mess hall talking (flirting?) with a girl from astrometrics, got up and headed out the door.

Elle went to bed, trying to be patient.


	17. Civilian Consultant of the Enterprise

The next morning, Kirk summoned her to the briefing room. "Everyone has agreed," he said simply. "We sent a message to Fleet Command this morning. It'll take them a while to give us an answer, so in the meantime, you need to keep up your classes, all right?"

Elle nodded. "Absolutely."

"Good."

She couldn't concentrate that day to save her life. Nobody grudged her absent-mindedness. And everyone was very careful not to make any plans for the future, although Sulu did let it slip that next semester he was planning on teaching her how to fence.

That night, Elle couldn't go to sleep. She was sure, the second she went to sleep, Star Fleet Command would call the ship, and she'd be taken to some grey-walled institution before she could blink. She knew she was being ridiculous, considering the Enterprise was way far out from any other ship, but still, the nagging fear kept her awake.

At about eleven o'clock, excuse me, 2300, Elle got up and shuffled her way down to sickbay to ask for a sleeping pill.

She entered the main ward and found McCoy and Spock talking to each other in low, urgent tones. They stopped abruptly when they saw her. McCoy started forward. "Elle? Something wrong, kiddo?"

"Can't sleep," she said, hugging herself against the slight chill in the air.

McCoy nodded in understanding. "Give me one second." He disappeared into the other room.

Spock frowned at her. "What are the reasons for your anxiety?" he asked in the calm, level tone of a meditation analysis.

Elle looked at the soft carpet of the deck. _Analyze, identify, state_. She needed a minute to sort through the causes of her emotions. "I don't want to leave. I'm scared that I might be taken away."

"Illogical," Spock said, not unkindly. "You would not be removed from this ship without fair warning. And as the captain says, not without a fight."

She gave him a brief smile. "Thanks." But that didn't really help the lizard-brain part of her that insisted she needed to be worried.

McCoy came back with a little red pill that was cut in half. It was tiny. "This is for your size and weight," he said. "Drink it with a half glass of water and then go right to bed."

Elle nodded and shifted on her heels. "If, uh," she started, feeling like a wimp. But he'd told her to ask, so she did, "If I start to have a nightmare, will this let me wake up?"

McCoy's eyes softened. "It should," he said gently. "Do you want to sleep here tonight, just in case?"

Elle shook her head. "Sickbay's too noisy."

"All right. But let me or Nurse Chapel know if you need anything," McCoy said.

"Thanks, doctor. Night." She turned and walked out of sickbay and left them to their conversation.

Spock caught up with her at the turbolift, looking extremely unflappable for someone who must have run two corridors to catch up with her. "As a Vulcan, I require one-third the amount of sleep as a human," he said.

Elle looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

He clasped his hands behind his back. "Dr. McCoy has a daughter," he said. "He has informed me of a technique used to assist her in sleeping through the night after she watched a classic Earth movie called 'The Shining.'"

Elle stifled a giggle. Her parents would _never_ let her watch that, not in a million years. She wondered how Joanna McCoy must've pulled that one off.

"As Dr. McCoy is now not as young as he was, in agreement with his assertions, and as he has his responsibilities as Chief Medical Officer which he must give priority to, I offer my services instead," Spock continued.

Elle blinked at him. "Spock, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Dr. McCoy called it simply, staying to keep the nightmares away," Spock said.

Against her will, Elle felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Elle?" Spock asked, looking a teensy bit alarmed at the onset of tears.

She forced them back with a smile. "Sorry, it's just, my dad used to do the same thing. When we watched Lord of the Rings when I was little I was freaked out that the dragon was gonna eat me, and he'd sit in that awful bean-bag chair and wait for me to fall asleep, and then he'd sleep there all night long, so any nightmares that came would have to get through him first. He'd get a crick in his neck but he wouldn't move." She laughed, just a tiny hint of wistfulness in her tone.

"I cannot guarantee you will not have nightmares," Spock said, looking doubtful, "but I can guarantee that you will not wake up alone."

"You don't have to do that," Elle told him. "I am actually old enough to take care of myself, not that you've seen much of it, but-"

"Elle," he interrupted, kindly but firmly, "you are a child in circumstances that are out of your control. No one is asking you to shoulder more than you can safely carry."

She blinked at him.

"On Vulcan," he added, "children are highly valued and no one would be left to suffer in the dark, alone."

"Not even you?" she asked.

He gave her a tiny smile. "Not even me."

"Okay," Elle said. "If you're sure I'm not bothering you."

Spock held up a small stack of PADDS. "I can assure you, paperwork can be done from any location."

She laughed. "Okay."

He escorted her to her quarters and took up a post on the sofa in the work area while she took the little red sleeping aid and got in bed.

"Hey Spock?" she asked.

"Yes, _ax'nav_?"

"Did you have friends?"

"Friendship does not exist on Vulcan," he replied.

Elle facepalmed. Duh. She knew that.

"However," Spock said, his voice easily carrying from the work area to her room, "if you concentrate on going to sleep, I will tell you about my relationship with the logic teacher that taught me to play kal'toh three years ahead of my agemates."

Elle grinned. "Okay."

She could've sworn he was using five times as many big words as he needed to, and somewhere in between 'tea with Professor Sor'el' and 'championship semi-finals' she fell asleep.

**-/\\-**

Elle woke up in a panic, half-formed images of Section 31 operatives in her mind.

From the other room, Spock raised his voice. "You've been asleep for four hours, twelve minutes, Elle. You are still here." A pause, then, "The quarterly energy emissions report from Engineering states that twelve percent of the gamma radiation is..."

She pulled the covers over her head and did her breathing exercises until she fell back asleep.

**-/\\-**

When she woke up, Spock was sipping a cup of tea in the other room and the stack of PADDs was neatly piled on the table. "Good morning," he said.

"Morning," Elle replied, yawning. "Is there-" She yawned again.

"There is no word yet," he told her.

"Mkay." She scrubbed the grit out of her eyes. "Thank you, Spock."

"There is no thanks needed," he said.

"Thank you, anyways."

He inclined his head in acknowledgement and said, "I will see you for Science class. We will be moving on to chemical reactions."

"Sounds fun."

A raised eyebrow was her only reply.

By the end of the day Elle was wound tighter than a string. After her language class with Uhura, the older woman invited her to a water aerobics class to relax.

"Sure," Elle said doubtfully. "I don't have a swimsuit though."

Uhura smiled. "Let's find one you like."

They used the computer and found one in the database that could be replicated. It was a basic two piece with a tanktop and shorts, in a pattern that reminded Elle of sunshine.

"Super cute," Uhura said, once they picked it up from the quartermaster. "Good choice."

They headed down to the swimming pool where about twenty women from various departments were in and around the pool.

Elle found out "water aerobics" was a great name for "hang in the pool and talk and have water fights", hence the "aerobic" part of it.

By the time she got out of the water she was pleasantly tired out. _And_ , she knew all the latest gossip. You would not believe the hijinks that the Ops department got up to.

They had their meditation session and Spock stayed on the couch to meditate further while Elle went to bed.

She woke up at a tiny thump from the work area.

"Captain!" a quiet reproach from Spock, a moment later.

"Sorry," Kirk whispered, not as quietly as he thought he was being. "I thought she was awake. I'll come back later."

"Has Command returned their decision?" Spock whispered.

"Yes."

At that Elle gave up all pretense of sleep and rolled out of bed. "What'd they say?" she asked, dragging the duvet with her and shuffling to the work area.

Kirk's smile could light up the Enterprise. "They said yes."

Elle beamed at him. "Really?"

"Really." He smiled at her. "They want to test having a civilian consultant on an active-duty starship. Even Komack agreed that having you on the Enterprise is less of a security risk than on a stationary base."

Elle nodded slowly. "How about when I grow up?" she asked.

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"I wanna join Star Fleet," she said.

He smiled at her. "You'll have at least ten people fighting to be your sponsor."

She hugged him tightly. "Thank you, captain."

He hugged her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You are very welcome, Elle."

Spock spoke up. "That matter being resolved, I believe it is still seven hours, fifteen minutes till Elle's designated waking hour," he said, giving Kirk a significant glare.

Kirk laughed. "All right, mother bear, I'm going. Good night, Elle, sleep tight."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Elle replied, and they shared a grin as Kirk left the cabin.

Spock's eyebrow was in his hairline. "Bed bugs?" he asked.

Elle giggled. "It's an expression," she said.

"I see."

With the certainty of knowing her fate, Elle suddenly felt sleepier than ever. She gave a last little laugh and yawned. "Good night again. I think I'll be okay."

"Good night again," Spock said, his eyebrow indicating 'somewhat-amused', and he let himself out.

Elle slept like a log. Literally, a log. Her alarm went off five times before she woke up and she coasted drowsily through breakfast and down to her first class.


	18. The Great Foam Incident

Elle made her way to the Chem Lab, a spring in her step. Spock had moved their class there for today. She paused on the threshold and looked at the rows of scientific equipment and assorted tools. "Uh, Spock?" she called, edging closer to the table.

He came out of the adjacent store room. He handed her a small lab coat, a pair of nitrile gloves, and a pair of safety goggles. "Safety first," he said gravely.

Elle gave him an innocent look. "Where's your goggles?" she asked.

He produced another pair of goggles, gloves, and lab coat in his size. "Hydrogen peroxide can cause skin or eye irritation," he informed her.

"Cool. So, what are we doing?"

"We will be using hydrogen peroxide and standard issue soap from the Maintenance department and recording the results of mixing the two ingredients together."

"Will it explode?" Elle asked, eyeing the tall beaker and the spillover pan.

"It might," Spock said. "If we do it correctly." That was definitely a not-smile in his voice. "There is always an element of risk," he continued dryly. "It will be harmless."

She grinned at him. "Awesome."

They proceeded methodically through the weighing and measuring of the ingredients, recording it all on a PADD. Then Elle added the catalyst and hit the blend button.

The chemical reaction roared forth out of the glass bottle and overflowed the spill pan. Before Elle could blink, the foam grew and covered the table, then the floor. And then it kept going, and going, and going...

Before Elle could move, the foam was bubbling around their ankles, spreading over the floor of the lab. She looked at Spock, fighting back laughter. "Uh, Spock? Was it supposed to do that?" she asked.

His eyebrows were in his hairline. "No," he said. "This is... unexpected."

Elle lost it, giggling hysterically into her hands as the foam reached her knees. "This is crazy!" she said. "When's it going to stop?"

"As I do not know what made it grow exponentially, I cannot estimate accurately," he said, looking vaguely alarmed. "I neglected to prepare a counteragent. However it should stop once the catalyst is consumed."

It reached Elle's waist and triggered the door sensor, spilling into the hallway. "Uh-oh," Elle said, giggling helplessly.

The biohazard and the containment breach alerts were triggered a moment later.

Spock sighed.

It was definitely past Elle's waist. She started wading through it, trying to get to where she thought the chair was, in case it got higher. She couldn't actually see it. Everything was lost in a sea of green foam. She gave up on the chair and turned to look at Spock.

He looked back at her impassively. "We must wait," was all he said.

Elle carefully scooped up some foam, and placed it on his head. "Now you have a hat."

He blinked at her, his other eyebrow rising, and then deliberately mirrored her actions, plopping some foam on her head.

She giggled.

At that moment a medical team, a security officer, and another science team burst down the hallway. They paused at the fringes of the foam, gaping.

Of course it was McCoy in the lead. He saw them, took in the lab coats, the foam, and started to grin. "Why Mr. Spock," he said, grinning from ear to ear, "I always knew you were mad scientist." He hit the wall comm. "Captain Kirk to Chem Lab 1, immediately!"

"On my way!" came Kirk's worried tone.

The two scientists, to their credit, were trying their hardest not to burst into laughter at seeing their commanding officer standing waist-deep in foam with a perfect foam hat. "I'll call Maintenance," the lieutenant said, and fled.

"I'll cancel the alarms," the other ensign said, voice choked with laughter, and escaped, snickering his head off.

The security officer cleared his throat. "I'll just, uh, leave you to it, then, Mr. Spock?" And he was out of there.

Elle leaned against the wall, giggling helplessly. McCoy joined her, literally slapping his knee as he laughed.

The captain came skidding around the corner and actually made it two steps into the foam before skidding to a halt, sending foam flying. He froze. And blinked. And turned to stare at his science officer. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Spock...?"

"A miscalculation in measurements, I believe," Spock said, deadpan.

Kirk covered his mouth with his hand and gave a suspicious cough. "I see," he said, his shoulders shaking.

Elle cheerfully scooped up some foam and lobbed it at McCoy. It squished against his uniform. "Foam fight!" she declared, and hid behind Kirk.

McCoy spluttered in disgust. "Oh, don't start something you can't finish, missy," he threatened, and splashed her with the foam.

Of course, Kirk took the full brunt of it and he retaliated quickly.

"I call Spock!" Elle yelled.

As one, Kirk and McCoy turned to look at Spock, who gave them a definitely-not-panicking expression. They grinned in sync, and advanced on the Vulcan.

Elle started lobbing handfuls of foam at Kirk and distracted him enough for Spock to make a preemptive strike on the doctor.

By the time the maintenance crew got there, they found four foam monsters splashing about in the foam that was slowly dispersing down the hallway. Three out of the four foam covered people were laughing so hard they were almost crying. The fourth was impressively deadpan, except you couldn't see his eyebrows underneath the foam.

"Um... captain?" Lt. Senegal asked uncertainly.

Kirk flapped a hand weakly, half leaning on McCoy's shoulder. "Just leave everything here, lt, we'll clean up. Dismissed."

"...Yes sir?" They dropped the stuff and beat it.

Elle grabbed a bucket of water and poured it over her head. The foam dissolved instantly, and she blinked wet hair out of her eyes.

Kirk picked up a wet-vac and started to vacuum up the foam into the water tank. Spock picked up the other one. McCoy took great delight in dumping the water over Kirk's head, and then his own. He looked at Spock and gave an evil grin.

"There is a perfectly functional sonic shower in the decontamination room adjacent," Spock said severely.

"This is more efficient," McCoy said.

"Vulcans do not get _wet_ ," Spock replied.

"Bones, leave 'im alone," Kirk said, still chuckling periodically.

Elle picked up the dry vac and followed along behind him, blowdrying the floor.

Once they were done, Kirk and McCoy left them to pick up their things. "Let's try not to set off any more alarms," Kirk told Spock.

Spock inclined his head. "I cannot make any guarantees, captain, but we will make the attempt."

"I knew he was mad scientist at heart," McCoy muttered, as Kirk dragged him away.

Elle giggled and turned to face Spock. "Greatest day ever," she told him.

His eyes softened, but all he said was, "We shall have to investigate why it reacted that way. Next class we will examine the chemical composition of both ingredients."

She grinned. "Yes, sir."

When she got to her quarters, her computer beeped with a waiting message. Someone had sent her a picture, pulled from the security footage. It was her and Spock, staring at each other with matching expression of shock, foam blobs on their heads.

Elle saved it to her personal file, and after a second's contemplation, sent a copy to Lady Amanda.


	19. Don't Cross the Yeomen

The next morning after The Great Foam Incident, as people were calling it with great fondness, Elle wandered into the mess hall for breakfast, and paused. There was a planet in the window. She got her eggs and toast and sat next to Yeoman Barrows. "Where are we? What planet is this?"

"This is Capella."

Elle frowned into her eggs, picking at the flecks of pepper. Too much pepper. "Capella, with the fighting people?" she asked.

"I think so. I haven't read the brief yet."

"I need to talk to the captain," Elle decided. "I think this is Friday's Child."

Barrows nodded. "I can walk you to the bridge once we're done, I need to get some signatures."

"Thanks."

She walked with Barrows up to the bridge and in accordance with Giotto's safety classes she clasped her hands behind her back to remove the temptation of touching something.

Kirk gave her a smile and said, "Welcome to the bridge. What do you think?"

Elle looked around at the bridge, the blinking consoles and the big screens and the levers and dials and smiled. "I love it," she said.

"So what brings you up here?" he asked, signing off on the stack of PADDs.

"Is this Capella?" Elle asked, gesturing to the viewscreen.

"Yes it is." He gave her an odd look. "What do you know about it?"

"The Klingons are here," Elle said.

Kirk gave her his full attention. "And?"

"So when you go down, you and Spock and Bones make off with the queen and she has a baby and you stop the Klingons from getting the treaty with... makeshift arrows."

Kirk blinked. "And why do we make off with the queen?"

"Oh yeah. Cuz the wannabe kills the king and he's going to kill her, too. Except in the end you're more honorable than the Klingons."

"Good to know," Kirk said. "Thank you for telling us."

Elle nodded. "Of course, captain." She shifted uneasily. Now that she'd fulfilled her purpose, she didn't quite know... did she have to leave? Or could she stay...?

Sulu turned slightly and waved her over. "I don't have much to do, so we can chat. Can you guess what kind of orbit we're in?"

Elle looked at the readouts, something about 'thrusters' and looked at the planet on the viewscreen. It didn't look like it was spinning, so that meant the Enterprise was going as fast as the planet, so, "Geo-synchronous?" she guessed.

Sulu gave her a high-five. "Good job. So over here..."

He and Chekov took turns explaining how they actually maneuver the ship and plot courses, Kirk chiming in once in a while with side notes or anecdotes.

The comm console beeped briefly. Uhura spoke up. "Teer Akaar has acknowledged our presence, captain, and invites you to beam down for negotiations."

Captain Kirk nodded. "Acknowledge his invitation and inform him we'll be there shortly. Spock, you're with me. McCoy to transporter room two." He touched the arm of the chair. "Mr. Scott, to the bridge, you have the conn."

"Aye, cap'n."

Scott came up in a jiffy, and Kirk turned over command. "If there are Klingons out there, let's not give them a reason to pick a fight."

"Aye, aye, sir. Godspeed."

Elle shuffled uneasily. "I'll get out of your hair," she said.

"Thanks, lass. See you tomorrow?"

"Yup." She got in the lift. "Deck Six."

**-/\\-**

It was really hard to wait. Elle knew the episode was playing out in real life below her feet on the planet, but to just sit here? Ugh.

She read two days worth of history material in a burst of anxious energy and then headed to the gym. Her regular session with Giotto was canceled. Security was on high alert since the captain was off ship with only one security officer and they were literally waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Elle ran a mile on the treadmill and did some stretches on her own anyway.

Since everyone else was busy, interactive classes were cancelled and Elle made her way to the Yeoman's Offices as ordered.

"Hey, Elle," Barrows said, giving her a smile. "Pull up a chair."

The department was laid out like an open floor plan at any large computer-based office. There were two walls of file cabinets, extensively labelled. The other two walls were covered in planners, calendars, schedules, reminders, sticky notes, and drawings. There were free range desks scattered about with various chairs, pods, beanbags, and sofas. This was the administrative heart of the Enterprise.

So Elle grabbed a beanbag and tugged it over to the corner of the room. With a PADD and a cup of hot chocolate she was all set to do her assigned reading for the day.

It was more fun to people-watch though. This was a busy department, with people bustling in and out and discussing schedules and meetings. Whoever wasn't actively working was sprawled in a seat, complaining their feet hurt, and one guy looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open. There were an equal amount of men and women and quite a few other species.

Elle poked at Barrow's ankle with her stylus. "Hey, I have a question. How do you get to be a yeoman anyway?"

"We're all NCO's, or non-commissioned officers. So we went to Star Fleet Academy for training but we don't have a commission. We're on a yearly basis, since it's a high-stress job. But if we stick it out we can get all the way up to Chief Petty Officer."

"So you get paid less?" Elle asked, frowning.

"Nobody gets paid, Elle."

"Oh yeah."

Barrows took pity on her. "But basically, we're yeomen because we're good at it. Without smooth paperwork, everything stalls. And we take care of all the details so that the person in charge can see the whole picture and make the big decisions."

"How much would the captain sleep if you didn't help him?" Elle asked.

"About ten seconds every five days," Barrows said, after a moment. "Less during quarterly reviews."

"So you're _really_ good at organizing."

"Not to brag, but yes. Our whole team for the senior officers are the best of the best."

"Cool." Elle absorbed the information into her world view, and noticed something else. sitting on the floor, it was kind of hard not to, but- "pants," she said. More than half the female yeomen were wearing uniform pants.

"Huh?"

"They're all wearing pants. _You're_ wearing pants."

Barrows laughed. "You were expecting everyone to wear the miniskirts all the time?"

"Kinda..."

"Yeah, I suppose coming from the 21st century, gender roles are a little more, uh, structured."

Elle snorted. "Oh, the irony." She went back to her textbook.

 _Finally_ , they got word that the treaty had been secured and Kirk and co were beaming up.

Elle waved a cheerful goodbye to the yeomen and went back to her quarters. Worrying was exhausting. She met up with Kirk on the way to his quarters. "So, how'd it go?" she asked.

He grinned briefly. "There were Klingons. Lots of shouting. We stole the teer and his consort. They named the baby Leonard James Akaar."

She grinned. "Nice. I guess some things have to stay the same."

"I guess so."

"G'night, captain. Welcome back." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and went into her quarters.


	20. The Psychological Effects of Makeup

The next day, Elle couldn't help but take a mental tally of who was wearing a skirt and who was wearing pants. She hadn't even noticed till now that there were three different skirt lengths. Uhura was wearing the longer one today, with no tights, and a short version of the uniform boots.

That led to Elle noticing her makeup. Which led to Elle noticing everybody's makeup; it hadn't clicked until now that almost everyone was wearing makeup. It hadn't clicked until now that McCoy was literally wearing blue eyeshadow and soft brown eyeliner. She couldn't stop staring.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asked. "Or are Rigelian biomes really that boring?"

She dropped her gaze hastily. "Sorry. No, yeah, I'm paying attention."

He frowned at her. "Okay, what is it?"

"Why do you wear eyeshadow?" she blurted, and blushed immediately after.

He chuckled. "Is that all?"

"Yeah..."

"Because I feel like it, and I know what it does for my eyes."

"Makes 'em _super blue_ ," Elle said. "My mom had a crush on you _forever_." She clapped a hand over her mouth, blushing harder.

Bones grinned. "Oh _really_?"

She groaned and hid her face. "So embarrassing."

McCoy just laughed. "Thank you for the compliment. Really though, because it does draw people's attention to my eyes. It makes it easier to get a read on a patient if they make eye contact. Their emotional state, their lucidity, their truthfulness. And it helps if I need to reassure them during a procedure or something."

Elle thought about being stabbed. One of the only thing she remembered was a pair of kind blue eyes. "Well it works," she said.

He snorted. "That second certificate of mine is xenopsych, remember?"

She nodded slowly. "So is there like, a psych factor to why everyone wears makeup? Is there a thing in the regs? How come Spock wears makeup?"

"Here. I'll let you read it." He brought up Star Fleet codes and regulations and showed her the section.

"Earrings, bracelets, and rings are permitted onboard ship... religious artifacts... hair, really? It just can't be loose on-duty for safety?"

"Really really. You ever seen a chunk of hair get stuck in a Jefferies tube?"

Elle shuddered in phantom pain. "Ugh." She kept reading. "Ah. Cosmetics... may be used as preferred in accordance with position on ship and mission specifics..." She glanced up. "So like, if you went to the past any girls couldn't wear lipstick cuz it was only for hookers?"

"Yes. More likely to happen, it talks about violating cultural taboos."

"Hm. So, what does position on ship mean?"

"Like, engineers and maintenance officers don't use much makeup because they're doing physical work and it'll get all sweated off and gun crews don't wear makeup because they can't risk getting something in their eyes at a critical moment. But everyone else if free to wear or not wear as they please. This is the flagship though, and people like to show their best."

"So not only geniuses and all but beauty gurus?" Elle asked dryly. "Smart _and_ pretty, no wonder you're all main characters."

McCoy laughed. "Something like that."

Elle nodded slowly. "So how come Spock wears it?"

McCoy snorted. "How 'bout this? Since you're so interested in this topic, we'll call it a project. _You_ can ask people why they wear makeup and you can analyze it in relation to the regs."

"All 430?" Elle asked, blanching.

"Let's say fifty. Give you a good sample group."

"Cool."

She was released from her class early to do her project and meandered through the ship. She snagged the first person she saw which was Lt. Riley. "Can I ask you a question for a project?"

"Sure."

"Do you wear makeup and if so, why? I'm not being judgmental or anything I just wanna know. Please," she added as an afterthought.

Riley laughed. "Sure thing. Yes I do sometimes, but only on the bridge or for special events."

Elle noted it. "Why?"

"Well mostly I work in the depths of the ship so there's no point, but if I'm on the bridge, what if we make first contact or speak to one of our allies? I need to look my best, no? I don't want to reflect poorly on the captain or the Enterprise."

Elle thought about _why_ Kevin Riley would put the captain first before anything else, and felt a little like crying but she forced it down. "Cool, thanks." She wrote it down.

"No problem, kiddo." He gave her a cheerful nod and continued on his way.

Elle went to the Rec Deck and pounced on the first girl she saw. "I _love_ your _highlighter_ ," she gushed. It was purple and sparkly, just the smallest shimmer on her cheekbones.

"Oh, thank you."

"Can I ask a question about it?"

"Sure."

Elle asked her the question.

"Oh, that's easy. I wear it all the time because I like it. There's this company on Alpha Cent that makes this line of highlighters and eyeshadows, oh, they're _great_."

Elle blinked. "How do you afford it?"

"I use my credit allowance on makeup mostly. Don't need anything else. Well, besides the odd knick-knacks planetside and other bits and bobs. Mostly textiles... I like a good blouse."

"Okay, wait," Elle said, frowning, "I don't know how credits work."

The lieutenant laughed. "If it's a basic need, it's covered. If it's not, we have a barter system. That's the credits. Like, I'll exchange cred for makeup, and the merchant will exchange the cred for supplies."

Elle wasn't particularly interested in economy so she let it go. "Okay, cool."

"You know what, I'll give you one," the lieutenant decided. "I have an eyeshadow quad that doesn't go with my complexion. It'd look cute on you, though. What's your room number?"

"Uh..." Elle gave her the room number. "Thanks?"

"Don't mention it, kiddo."

Elle went back to picking people, pleased with her results so far.

Thirty people later...

"Iowan farmboy sunkissed glow," Elle decided. "That's your aesthetic, isn't it?"

Kirk stared at her for second and then laughed. He laughed so hard he had to lay his head down on the table. "Is it?" he asked, his shoulders still shaking with not-giggles.

"It totally is," Elle declared, pointing her stylus at his cheekbone. "You're wearing bronzer and highlighter, you've got that glow... it's totally working."

He just laughed some more. "Thank you. Captain Pike gave me that tip."

"Don't tell me it's a class," Elle said, trying to imagine earnest Command track cadets learning how to apply makeup.

"Command 101," Kirk said, deadpan. "There's a whole section on command image. Looking like a pale spacer ghost is bad for morale."

"Really?"

He just winked at her.

She went after Spock next. She found him writing reports in a quiet corner of the observation deck.

"Yes," he said, as soon as she approached.

"Huh?"

"You may ask me your question for your project," he continued.

"Oh. Thanks. So?"

He gave her an eyebrow raise that meant 'be precise in your research'.

Elle sighed. "Do you wear makeup and if you do, why?"

"I do, as you have seen. and I wear it because..." He trailed off.

"Because?" she asked.

He looked vageuly confuzzled. "I have not determined my exact reasoning," he said.

"Do other Vulcans wear it?" Elle asked, writing this down and trying not to look shocked. Spock always had an answer.

"Some do," Spock said. "But the majority see it as unnecessary and the others are mostly in contact with other races."

"So it's because you're here," Elle said. "Is it to fit in?"

He just looked at her.

"Or to stand out?" Elle asked. A fanfic she'd read once came back to her. "Um, do you wear it to make your differences stand out? Did Sulu show it to you?"

Both of Spock's eyebrows went up. "How do you know that?"

"I read it somewhere," Elle said, pleased that she'd guessed right.

He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Elle gnawed on the end of her stylus. "So, can I watch you put it on?"

"For what purpose?"

"I dunno, I just, it's so cool and I wanna see," Elle said. "I'm just curious."

"Curiosity is an acceptable reason," Spock assured her. "You may come to my quarters at 0640 tomorrow morning."

"Awesome! Thanks, Spock."

**-/\\-**

Elle was at Cmdr Spock's quarters at 0640 precisely. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," she said cheerfully in greeting, sidling into his quarters. It was like an oven in here with Vulcan temperatures.

"I am a vegetarian," he reminded her.

"Wakey, wakey vegetables and sadness," Elle amended, and giggled to herself at the meme.

Spock just raised his eyebrow, the one that meant 'human-children-are-completely-illogical'.

The captain and first officer's quarters shared a bathroom. It was funny seeing Kirk's hair gel sitting next to his orange toothbrush, and on the other side of the sink, Spock's toothbrush and comb at perfect right angles to the wall.

Elle watched with rapt attention as Spock finished combing his hair and then started on his makeup. No skin products, just eyes. It was weird watching him blend the purple eyeshadow into his crease. "Do you really have two eyelids?" she asked.

"I do."

"Cool."

"For a human, the temperature is actually extremely hot," he said dryly.

Elle rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Spock looked _very_ Vulcan when he finished, which, you know, was the point.

"Eyebrows on fleek!" Elle complimented him.

He raised one of the latter.

"Wings sharp enough to kill a man?" she tried.

The other eyebrow went up.

"Drop that skincare routine?"

He sighed. "Elle. Please desist."

"Sorry. I just mean it looks nice, bye!" She waited till she was around the corner to shriek with mirth. _I cannot believe I just said 'fleek' to a Vulcan..._

**-/\\-**

Elle presented her findings to McCoy the day afterwards. "Basically, makeup is psychology," she said. "There are some people who wear it because they like the way it makes them look. There are some people who wear it because they want to represent the ship to their highest ability. There are some people who wear it to accomplish an objective."

"And the ones that don't wear it at all?" McCoy asked.

"They don't need it," Elle replied simply. "And then I have one person who likes it but they get skin allergies real bad."

McCoy chuckled. "Crewman Wyss?"

Elle nodded. "So can I wear makeup?" she asked hopefully.

McCoy sighed. "No. You're too young."

Elle pouted. "Pleeeeaaaaaseee, Bones?"

"That only works on Spock," McCoy warned, but his eyes softened. "For play only," he said. "I don't want you to ruin your skin and then come cryin' to me about acne."

Elle beamed at him. "Thanks, doc!" She hustled out before he could change his mind.


	21. The Deadly Years

The abrupt question startled all thoughts of Shakespeare out of Elle's head and she blinked at Kirk. "Gamma Hydra Four?"

"Yes. It's a scientific outpost. We're making Star Fleet's yearly check on the outpost."

Elle frowned at the copy of Romeo and Juliet in her hands. "Why are you asking me?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"I spoke to the head scientist, Dr. Johnson, and he sounded, strange," Kirk said.

"What kind of strange?" Elle asked, getting a vague inkling.

"He sounded like my grandpa used to," Kirk replied, frowning lightly. "Couldn't stick to one topic. Kept calling me sonny."

Elle dropped her PADD. "The Deadly Years," she gasped.

"The what?"

Elle picked up the PADD. "It's some sort of disease, aging everybody there. And then you guys get it, and, it's not good."

Kirk nodded grimly. "What can we do about it?"

Elle bit her lip and screwed up her face, trying to remember what they'd done. "I don't know," Elle said helplessly. "Doctor McCoy figured it out, and I know there was a shot, but, I don't remember. Sorry."

"It's all right," Kirk said, patting her hand. "With your warning, we'll be fine."

"But you can't go down there," Elle added urgently, "you can't get contaminated."

Kirk nodded. "Understood. If you remember anything else, let me know immediately, all right?"

Elle nodded.

She got an alert on her PADD the next day, halfway through engineering class with Lt. Riley. "Unknown biohazard lockdown alert - all nonessential personnel to remain stationary till further notice." She showed it to Kevin.

"I guess you're staying here then," he said with a shrug.

Elle really hoped that didn't mean they'd done something stupid like let the disease loose.

The comm whistled a moment later. "Sickbay to Elle." It was Nurse Chapel.

"Elle here."

"Where are you, Elle?"

"In Engineering with Lt. Riley."

"Good. Stay there."

"I got the alert," Elle confirmed. "What's happening?"

"Dr. McCoy is aging beyond the normal rate," Chapel said. "And the scientists on the planet are all," she paused.

"Dead of old age?" Elle asked.

"Yes."

Elle bit her lip.

"Anything you remember, Elle, would be really useful right now," Chapel said. She sounded nervous.

Elle couldn't blame her. McCoy was already kinda, you know, older than most people on board, and if he was aging rapidly... "I'll try," Elle said.

"Thank you, Elle. Sickbay out."

Elle put her PADD down and curled into a ball pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. "Think think think think," she muttered, feeling like Winnie the Pooh. "Think think think..."

Riley watched her in quiet sympathy.

Elle squished her eyes closed, trying to bring forward some scrap, any scrap, of information about this episode. But this was an episode she didn't like, so it's not like she watched it more than a couple of times... "I've got nothing," she said helplessly, dropping her head to the desk with a 'thump'. "I'm useless."

"Now," Riley reproved, "none of that. It'll come to you eventually."

"That may be too late," Elle retorted. "Ughhhh I need to rewatch the episode or something, I don't know, I just," She head-desked again. "Ugh. I need... I need-" The answer came to her, like it would to any Trekkie. Just ask Spock to help her find the memory in her head. It was easy. But, he was a real person, and Elle was a real person, and this was not a fanfiction, and, was that even moral? To use someone else's abilities to go digging around in her own head? What if he saw the future?

"Elle?" Riley asked, when she didn't lift her head from the desk.

"I think I know how to do it but I don't wanna ask cuz it's dumb," she groaned, her voice muffled in her elbow.

"There are no dumb questions," Riley said.

Elle sighed. "Yeah, okay. I need to talk to Spock, then. Face to face. Not on comms."

So Riley called Mr. Spock and Elle tried to think of a way to ask without sounding weird about it.

Spock came down to Engineering in record time. "You have remembered something?" he asked.

Elle bit her lip. "Well, no, but, I mean, it's in here, cuz I've watched it" - she tapped her temple - "And I know, I mean, I just wanted to ask, is there a way to get it out? Like, can you help me find the memory?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I might be able to guide you to the appropriate memory... it would not be a full mind-meld, but a light mind touch to assist in focusing your thoughts."

"Can you do it?" Elle asked. "You wouldn't get like, my knowledge of the future and stuff?"

"Not unless your train of thought deviated in that direction, however I do not believe it will." He fixed her with a serious look. "Are you positive you wish to do this, Elle?"

She nodded. "If it saves Bones, of course."

"Very well."

Even in a rush though, mind stuff was serious business. The captain needed to be informed of the situation. Riley confirmed it was Elle's idea and not Spock's. Dr. M'Benga was applied to for reassurance that performing a shallow mind-touch on a young human brain was medically safe. Elle needed to confirm her agreement for the record. And finally, Kirk gave his permission to go ahead.

Spock, Elle, and the captain himself for moral support, went to a small, little-used rec room. They sat on the carpeted floor, Elle and Spock across from each other, and Kirk off to the side.

"We shall begin with regular meditation to order your thoughts," Spock decided.

Elle took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slowly she sank to a calm state, aware of the ship humming beneath her and the captain's soft breathing.

"I will now initiate the mind link," Spock said quietly. "Try not to resist as it may cause you pain."

"Okay." She barely jumped when cold fingers touched her face, gently settling over her psi points at her temples. Elle felt a presence, alien, different, _not-her_ , step into her awareness and almost instinctively started to raise a wall - but stopped. _Spock?_

 _Yes_. "Yes." She heard it both in her own head and aloud. It was dizzying.

Elle relaxed and 'invited' him forward. "How-" she asked, echoing her mental question aloud.

"Start by finding the memory of the episode itself," Spock ordered. "When did you watch it?"

Her mental landscape whirled and changed, providing her with the answer. Eleven years old, watching 'The Deadly Years' on VHS at her grandma's house.

Spock caught the memory and held it. "Your awareness is there," he encouraged. "Now go forward, into the episode, let it play."

With Spock's help, Elle pulled the entire episode from her memory. She'd watched it twice, and it came back to her in bits and pieces. They carefully reassembled the events of the episode and shared a white-hot flash of indignation at the disease that took away Kirk's command of his beautiful ship. Finally Elle/Spock found the missing piece.

"Adrenaline," she breathed, fixing on Chekov's readouts. "It's adrenaline."

Spock (and no that wasn't pure relief flooding their shared mental desktop, of course not) carefully disengaged from the not-meld, and lifted his fingers.

Elle waved a silent 'bye' after his retreating consciousness and opened her eyes. "Adrenaline," she repeated.

"Yes." Spock watched her carefully. "Are you well?"

She nodded and rubbed at her eyes. They felt dry. "I'm okay, I'm good," she said. She looked at Kirk and paused.

He smiled at them fondly and helped Elle to her feet. "Thank you, Elle," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's see if it works," Elle said uneasily.

It did. Before she knew it, Dr. McCoy was back to his proper age. By the time Elle was cleared to come see him, he was already writing up his report and starting his thesis for another publication. "Shouldn't you take a nap or something?" Elle asked, concerned.

"Can't," he said shortly, typing another sentence. "The adrenaline left me high." He stood up and crossed the room. "Thank you, Elle. We wouldn't have found it without you."

Elle shrugged shyly. "You would've found it sooner or later."

McCoy shook his head. "We wouldn't have. I was the only one infected, remember?"

A cold chill ran through Elle's spine. "Oh," she said faintly.

He frowned at her and grabbed her arm gently. "Sit down before you fall down, kiddo, you've gone ghost white. You okay? Can you hear me?" He sat her on the sofa and knelt in front of her, checking her pulse.

Elle stared at him, the blood pounding in her ears as she realized that she'd _changed_ the _timeline_ and if she hadn't given them the answer Bones might've actually _died_... She closed her eyes and pressed her fist to her mouth. "You could've actually died," she said out loud.

He touched her knee. "Elle, look at me?"

She met his eyes.

"I didn't," he said firmly. "Okay? We're all fine."

"Yeah," she said shakily, giving him a smile. "Yeah. You're fine." She grabbed him in a hug. "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you," he affirmed, squeezing her tightly. He smoothed her hair. "Whew. Now that's over, I think you're right, it's time for a nap." He grinned at her. "Don't tell anyone I'm recommending this, but I think you need the biggest chocolate sundae the replicators can spit out."

"That sounds like the best medicine ever," Elle decided, giggling. "All right."


	22. Tri-D Chess

Captain Kirk and Commander Spock were playing Tri-D chess. _Kirk_ and _Spock_ and _chess_.

Elle couldn't stop staring.

"Elle?" Lt. Howard poked her arm. "You gonna get your food?"

Elle grabbed the lieutenant's arm and tugged, unable to tear her eyes away as Kirk moved a rook. "Lt. They're playing _chess_."

"Yah. It's Thursday. Cap'n must've finished the quarter evals." Lt. Howard moved away like he wasn't witnessing an iconic moment. "Elle, your food."

Elle grabbed her meal tray from the replicator and made her way to a table with an unobscured view of the chess game. She sat down and absently shoved food in her mouth.

"Hey, Elle," Riley said, passing by her.

"Uh-huh," Elle said, waving a hand to move him out of the way.

Riley grinned. "I'll leave you to it, then." He went away to bother someone else.

Spock moved his queen and steepled his fingers.

Elle finished her food and leaned her chin on her hands to watch them play. She'd only ever seen a 3D chess board on the episodes, she'd never seen one in real life, not even an app or anything. But from micro-expressions, body language, and how long it was taking for either of them to move a piece, it looked like Kirk was winning at the moment. "This is so cool," she whispered to herself, biting her lip to keep from fangirling too hard. She didn't want to distract them.

Kirk moved another pawn. "You know," he said, just a tad louder than his conversational tone with Spock, "you can come over here and watch us. We don't bite."

Elle blushed to the roots of her hair. She stood up, jostling her tray. "Sorry," she said, addressing her remarks to the floor. She picked up her tray and turned away from the game.

"Elle."

She froze in place and then slowly turned back to face the captain. "Yes, sir?"

He just smiled. "Come sit with us."

She put her tray in the recycler and came over to their table. She took a seat on the other side, to watch both of them. Now that she could really see the board, it actually looked more confusing. She glanced up at Spock.

His right eyebrow was tensed slightly higher than his left.

Yup, the captain was definitely winning. _Fascinating_. Elle turned back to the board as Spock made his move.

Slowly, she figured out the game as it progressed to the endgame. They fought to a draw, Kirk's pieces around Spock in an eternal stalemate. "Good game, Spock," Kirk said, smiling at him.

Spock inclined his head, a small smile on his lips. "You as well, Jim. Inspired strategy."

Kirk looked over at Elle. "Play the winner, Elle?"

She shook her head so hard she almost overbalanced. " _No way_."

Both sets of eyebrows went up. "That's a pretty vehement response for a game," Kirk said mildly. "You're not a sore loser, I've seen you play games with Sulu and Chekov. Why don't you want to play?"

Elle made a lot of incoherent noises and waved her hands. "It's _you_ ," she said. " _You._ And _3D chess_. That's like, nuh-uh."

Spock's eyebrow went higher. "That was unclear, even for a human of your age," he said. "Please explain, _coherently_."

She was blushing again. She really needed to stop with the blushing. "I don't know how to play," she said. "I only know regular chess."

"Well that's easy, we'll teach you," Kirk said.

Elle let out a nervous giggle. "I don't think you understand how legendary your games are," she said, still feeling like her face was on fire. "This is like, your thing. It's totally not my place."

Kirk started to laugh. "Starstruck over a game?" he teased gently.

Elle put her palms over her fire-red cheeks. " _No_ ," she protested, even though it was totally true. "I just, I just wanna watch. That's more interesting than playing."

"How so?" Spock asked.

"Because it's you guys," Elle said. "Bones said that chess is a diagnostic tool, and he's totally right. I can see it in your plays."

"When did he say that?" Kirk asked.

Elle thought about it. "Oh. Not yet. That comes later, I think. One of my favorite books. I read it so much, the cover's started coming off."

Kirk tilted his head and studied her. "When you were eating, who did you think was winning?" he asked.

"I knew it was you."

"Why?"

"Because of the way Spock was reacting to the board."

Spock's eyebrow hit his bangs. "Very few people can parse Vulcan body language," he said.

"And becuase of the way you were moving," Elle told the captain.

"Very few people can read the captain, either," Spock said.

Elle shrugged, suddenly awkward with both their full attention on her. "I don't know. I've watched you play chess since I was three, I just knew."

"Hm. Possibly that latent ESP?" Kirk asked.

"Possibly, sir. Or possibly, her naturally sensitive intuition." Spock started to reset the board. "I propose another game, captain. This time, Elle, follow along, and I would like for you to write down your observations and predict the outcomes on a PADD."

"Cool." Elle borrowed a PADD and opened the note-taking app.

This time, they played a timed game. Each player only got thirty seconds. By the sixth move, Elle knew Spock would win. He controlled the board and Kirk was only reacting instead of acting. "You did that on purpose," she accused, watching as Kirk moved a pawn, which was immediately captured.

"How do you know?" Kirk asked.

"I just do," Elle said, frustrated.

"I wonder if you'd do so well with new crewmembers," Kirk said, frowning. "This is fascinating. Are you sure you don't know how to play this game?"

"Nope. Me and my dad used to play regular chess, but that was, well, before." Elle pushed down the wave of homesickness that came with the memory of rainy day chess games, hot cocoa and marshmallows. "I've been too busy to really get into the 3D kind yet."

"Hm. Let's take this to the Rec Deck, shall we?"

The three of them moved down to the Rec Deck and walked over to the first people they spotted playing 3D chess.

"Captain?" Ensign Malo-or asked nervously.

"Can we do something for you?" Cingur asked, his fur bristling with nerves.

"As you were, ensigns," Kirk said, giving them a charming smile. "We're just testing our youngest crewmember on chess tactics. Is it alright if we watched Elle watch the rest of your game?"

The two ensigns shared a nervous glance. "Sure, captain," Malo-or said, cheerfully nervous. "We just started, anyway."

"Good man, thank you." Kirk and Spock took seats at the next table and started to have a conversation about quarterly reviews and petri dishes versus dilithium converters.

Elle seated herself across from them to be able to see the two ensigns and the board. She knew very well that the command duo could hold a conversation and still analyze her every movement. Her hands started to sweat.

Kirk glanced over at her and winked.

Elle relaxed. There was no reason to be nervous, not really. What if she really could read body language super well? Wasn't that a good thing? And this way, she'd learn more about chess. She turned on the PADD and poised the stylus.

Malo-or moved a piece. A rook. Cingur let out a huff and moved a knight.

"That messed up his opening strategy," Elle said.

"You know the strategy he's trying?" Kirk asked.

"No, but Ensign Malo-or messed it up for him, anyway. He had to compensate, there."

"Hm."

They spread out through the board. "Who's winning?" Kirk prompted.

Elle chewed on her lip, watching the two opponents. "Cingur. He's got something up his sleeve."

"How do you know?"

"He's breathless. He's hoping Malo-or hasn't noticed his plan."

"Has he?"

Elle studied the Rigelian ensign. "No," she said. "He's too relaxed. He doesn't have a backup strategy to counteract whatever Cingur is doing."

"Can you see the winning moves?" Spock asked.

Elle studied the board itself. "Can the queen move diagonally vertically through the board?"

"Yes."

"He's gonna use that to do something."

"How do you know?"

"He could've sacrificed it for the other queen, but he held back."

Kirk and Spock shared a glance over her head. "How do you know?" Kirk asked.

"That was the strongest piece. If this strategy fails, Malo-or can take him out with his queen. So he needs the queen for something."

Both men fell silent.

Cingur won four moves later. "Checkmate," he said triumphantly.

Malo-or grinned. "Ooh. That was good. Didn't even see that coming." He shook his head and held out a hand. "Good game."

"Well-played, gentlemen," Kirk said, going over to them. "Very good strategy, Ensign Cingur."

"Thank you, captain."

Kirk ushered Spock and Elle out ahead of him. "You called that whole game based on the body language of a Rigelian and a Caitian that you've never met before," he said.

Elle bounced on her toes. "And?"

He patted her on the shoulder. "Good skill to have, kiddo. _Very_ good skill to have. You're going to make one heck of a tactician or a diplomat, one day."

Elle grinned. "Or a starship captain?" she asked.

He ruffled her hair. "Are you angling after my job, mister?" he asked, mock-outraged.

She gave him an innocent smile. "Nope. That's too much stress. I don't want my hair turning gray so soon."

His jaw dropped. "Gray... what?"

She smirked at him. "Just saying."

"I do not have gray hair," he protested.

"Not yet," she teased.

He slung an arm around her shoulders and tugged at her ponytail lightly. "Brat," he said fondly.

Later that night, Spock sent her a link to a 3D chess computer program. The first level, that of beginner, gave you all the possible moves for each piece. He also sent her a list of everyone onboard, including himself and Captain Kirk, who played the game.

"No pressure," Elle said wryly.


	23. Obsession

Nurse Chapel surveyed Elle's handiwork. "Good job, you have the wrapping technique down but you need to do it tighter or it's not going to provide support where you need it. Try it again."

Elle nodded and started to unwrap the pressure bandage from her own ankle. "Kay."

The comm whistled. "Medical emergency incoming!" Chief Kyle's voice shouted.

Elle blinked as sickbay transformed into a whirl of productivity and Nurse Yen ushered her to McCoy's office. "Stay here, kiddo," he said, and closed the door behind him.

The only thing Elle could hear was alarms beeping and the steady voice of McCoy presiding over whatever crisis was happening. She focused on re-wrapping the bandage. There was nothing she could help with right now.

The door swished open an hour later and McCoy entered. He heaved a sigh and sat at his desk before he realized Elle was sitting on the sofa. "Oh," he said, and straightened.

"No, it's okay, I'll get out," Elle said, hastily standing up.

"Wait," he said, holding out a hand. "You don't want to leave yet."

Elle sank back down. "Who died?" she asked, her stomach sinking to her toes.

"Two security officers. And Ensign Rizzo is barely hanging in there." McCoy shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it."

"What was it?" Elle asked quietly, curling into the sofa.

"They were completely drained of red blood cells," McCoy replied.

Elle dropped her PADD. "What? Did anybody say anything about a smell? Did it smell like honey?"

McCoy eyed her sharply. "You know what's going on?"

Elle nodded hurriedly, dread forming in her gut. "There's a, a sort of cloud creature that absorbs all the red blood cells from people. It killed everyone on the Farragut when the captain was just a lieutenant, oh, he's gonna _freak out_."

"Freak out how?" McCoy asked, frowning.

"I don't want to say he's gonna be obsessed but," Elle shrugged. "I'm sorry."

McCoy muttered something under his breath. "This is the last thing we need, we have to rendezvous with the Yorktown. How did we defeat it in your show?"

"Uh... I think you blew it up."

"Of course we did."

"It's really evil," Elle added.

The door swished open and Chapel entered. "Autopsy results, doctor," she said, glancing at Elle. "Elle-"

"I'm good," she said soberly.

Kirk burst in a moment later, a tower of righteous fury. "How's Ensign Rizzo?" he asked. He was wound tighter than a new hair tie on a wrist.

"Still unconscious," Chapel reported.

Elle decided to brave the lion and touched Kirk's sleeve. "Captain, it's going to be okay."

He locked his gaze with her, his eyes tortured. "You know what it is?"

"I know," she affirmed.

"How do we destroy it?" he asked.

McCoy spoke up, concerned. "Now hold on, Jim, I don't think we have that kind of time-"

"When I want your opinion I'll ask for it, doctor," Kirk bit out. "Elle?"

"Explosives," Elle said simply. "And we should really get it before it leaves."

" _Leaves_?" Kirk turned on his heel. "I need to talk to Mr. Scott." He left before anyone could move.

Elle turned to look at McCoy. "Um."

He ruffled her hair. "It's all right, kiddo. Go on back to your quarters."

Elle sighed. "Yeah."

She went to her quarters and sat on the bed. She kicked her shoes off and curled up on the covers. "Might as well watch TV." She scrolled through the database on her PADD until she found a good show to put on her computer monitor.

Stargate SG1. "Oh, hey, I know this show..." Elle grinned. "All ten seasons, and Atlantis! Yes! I know what I'm doing for the next month... stop talking to yourself, weirdo." She started the first episode. "Oh my goodness, that's really MacGyver's actor. That's cool. No, shut up." She grabbed her pillow and tried not to think about Kirk going all Captain Ahab over a giant gas cloud. Right now, it was none of her business.

She was on her third episode when the doorbell rang. "Come in!" She scrambled off her bed and darted out to the living room.

Kirk entered the room. He looked like he needed a good night's sleep. "Elle."

"Is it over?" she asked.

He nodded and dropped into the corner of the sofa. "Thank you."

Elle shifted uneasily. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He rubbed his forehead.

"That it happened to you in the first place."

He sighed. "It was a long time ago, Elle."

"But you're still feeling guilty."

"How do you know that?"

Elle raised an eyebrow. "You picked Lt. Garrovick."

"Ah. Of course." He gave her a wry smile. "I forget you know me better than I know myself."

"You should talk to Bones," Elle suggested. "He's really good at the whole therapy thing. Plus, he's worried about you."

"Can't have that," he said dryly, standing up.

"Are we gonna make it to the rendezvous?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Good."

He ruffled her hair. "Thanks, Elle."

"Night, captain."

"Night."

**-/\\-**

The next day, the Enterprise arrived at the colony Theta Seven, only thirty minutes behind schedule. All Science and Security personnel, as well as anyone with rudimentary medical training, were assigned to handle the medical crisis, so Elle spent the day in Engineering.

The Enterprise stayed at the colony for a week until the medical ships arrived to handle the rest of the crisis. Elle emerged from the depths of Engineering with a custom set of tools to fit her smaller hands, thanks to the engineering crew who spoiled her rotten. They were probably breaking regulations by letting her clamber in and out of Jefferies Tubes helping with maintenance, but Elle had passed her safety drills with Scotty so she was allowed. Not to mention she was smaller than everyone in the department...

"I thought Elle was in this section?"

Elle heard her name and shimmied forward out of the Jefferies tube. "Huh?" She smiled at the captain. "Hi, sir."

"You've been eaten by the ship," he said, amused.

Elle glanced back at her legs, still inside the tube. "Yup. I'm helping Cmdr. Karindar with the overflow valves."

"I see." He nodded. "I just wanted to inform you that our mission at Theta Seven is over and we'll be heading back to unexplored space, so our literature lessons will start back up tomorrow evening. Have you been reading?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He huffed a laugh. "Carry on."

She grinned at him and shuffled back into the tube.


	24. New York Fashion Week in Space

It was quiet - only the occasional page turn from Elle's corner. Everyone else was silently reading, a few people were plugged into movies. In this corner of the Rec Deck, serenity reigned.

That's when Elle heard it. She looked up. Nothing. She went back to her book. Dirk Pitt was just about to- "Do you hear a bird?" she asked her sofa mate.

Ensign Romanova looked up. "A bird? No. There are no birds on the Enterprise."

"Oh." Elle went back to her book. "No seriously," she said after a few minutes, "I heard birds."

"Maybe one of the holo-tanks is leaking sound?" the ensign said.

Elle glanced over at the people watching movies. Oh, there was one. People were in a forest. "Oh." She went back to her book.

The next day she got into the lift to go to engineering for her class. By some miracle, she wasn't joined on the lift for twelve solid decks. It was just her and the hum of the mag-lev servers... it sounded like it was raining.

She stuck her finger in her ear and gave it a wriggle. Nothing. Still sounded like rain. But she couldn't hear it once she entered Engineering so she cast it away as water in her ears. She'd have to avoid a splash fight next time.

Two days later though, she and Kirk were reading the poems of Robert Frost. In a pause for contemplation... "Do you hear water?" she asked.

"No," he replied after a moment. "Do _you_ hear water?"

"Yeah, like a stream or something." Elle frowned. "I think I'm losing it. The other day I heard rain and before that I heard birds and-"

Kirk started to grin. "No way."

"What? Is it insanity? Am I space crazy?"

"I think you can hear the subsonics."

"The what?"

"Part of the environmental systems are the sounds of nature, played at a level humans only register subconsciously, about 18 to 22 hertz. It's actually to keep us from going crazy with the absence of sound. It's on a random selection of wind, rain, running water, wildlife, so on."

"Oh. Can Spock hear it?"

"Yes. He tunes it out though."

"Cool."

Kirk got up and held out a hand. "C'mon, let's go see Bones, get your hearing checked out."

"You have bat ears," was McCoy's prognosis. "As you get older it should fade."

"So I'm not crazy?"

McCoy laughed. "I didn't say that, darlin'. Everyone on this tin can is crazy, but you're in good company."

**-/\\-**

"So where are we going next, captain?"

"Chapter fourteen," he quipped, turning the page.

Elle sagged further down in her chair. "Caaaaapppttaaaaiinnnn, come onnnn," she whined.

Kirk laughed at her dramatics. "Actually, Miss Nosey-Parker, we're getting shore leave."

"Awesome!" Elle popped up in her seat. "Where? Can I come?"

"Argelius," he replied, "and the only place you'll be going, _if_ you remain an upstanding member of the crew, is the art museum, _if_ the exhibits are appropriate."

Elle frowned. "Like naked people and stuff?"

"That's one way of putting it," Kirk said wryly.

"Cool. Not the naked people stuff, but the whole shore leave. New planet!" Elle bounced in her seat. "What's it like? When do we get there?"

Kirk rolled his eyes. "You can read the briefing later on your own time, Elle."

"Right. Sorry." She turned the page. "Ahem."

**-/\\-**

Argelius was... definitely the place where spacefaring people would go to let loose. Elle didn't see much of it, but all the natives were New York fashion week on steroids. The tourists in the art museum were a little more standard, but Elle felt painfully underdressed in her gray skinny jeans and green sweater.

Lt's Kyrios and Chandragartha, two members of Archaeology and Anthropology aboard ship, were Elle's designated babysitters. Both of them had volunteered. "We'll finally get to use our art history to impress somebody," Kyrios drawled. "Lead on, Elle."

Elle tugged her minders through to the first exhibit: art made during Argelius' age of space discovery.

"What do you think?" Chandragartha asked. "First impressions?"

"It's really..." Elle tried to find a word to describe the sculptures and the paintings and the moving exhibits. "I don't want to say gaudy, but, gaudy?" She glanced up at them. "Is everything on Argelius so over the top?"

Chandragartha smiled. "Not to them."

"Right." Elle tried to put herself in their shoes. Rich, hedonistic culture, first venturing into space... suddenly the three-dimensional billowing neon silk tapestry made more sense. "I like it." She put her hand in her pocket, reaching for her phone, and froze. Her eyes widened. "I don't have a phone. I can't take pictures. I don't have a camera!" she almost-wailed.

Kyrios grinned and produced a holocam from his backpack. "Ta-da!"

"You're the best," Elle said gratefully. She received the holocamera and tilted her head. "Now how do you work it?"

One quick tutorial later, Elle convinced the two lieautenants to take a cheesy selfie with her in front of the silk tapestry.

They spent a good four hours in the art museum, wandering to all the interesting bits, and then exited the museum.

Elle glanced down the street, vibrant with shops and street vendors. "Do we have to go back to the ship right away?" she asked, trying not to sound whiny.

The two officers exchanged a glance above her head and Kyrios shrugged. Chandragartha grinned. "There's an authentic Indian place a few blocks down where we can eat dinner," she said. "Fairly family friendly."

Elle linked arms with her. "I've been to downtown Portland. I can handle some liberal-ness."

"I don't think that's a word," Kyrios said doubtfully.

"We're on shore leave," his partner replied, giving Elle a conspiratorial wink.

Elle grinned.

They meandered through the street vendors and the shops. Elle spent a good two minutes looking at a tiny glass globe filled with intricate metal filligree, suspended inside a delicate magnetic holder. It looked like it ought to be in an alien version of Indiana Jones or something. But, she had literally no money, so Elle left it behind and followed her babysitters towards the restaurant. She didn't feel so bad about leaving it when Chandragartha lingered over a beautiful head scarf in a shop window for three minutes before moving on.

It was delicious. Elle ate so much curry and freshly-baked naan she christened her food baby 'Batman.'

"Why Batman?" Kyrios asked.

Elle grinned. "Naan naan naan naan Batman," she sang, and did the most Gen-Z of finger guns when the two lieutenants groaned. She giggled into her cup of chai. "Gotcha."

Chandragartha rolled her eyes. "I'm going to have to send that to my mum. She'll love it. Hate it, but love it."

"Creds to tumblr," Elle informed her.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

They left the restaurant and meandered in another direction. "A movie theater!" Elle said, bouncing on her toes. "What kind of movies do they play?"

"We can check," Kyrios said, giving her a smile. "You-" His communicator chirped with an incoming call. He snapped from easygoing to business in half a second flat and flipped open the comm. "Kyrios here."

"All shore leave parties are being recalled," Uhura's voice informed them.

"Understood," Kyrios said. "Three to beam up."

"Acknowledged," Uhura said, and switched the comm to the transporter room.

Chief Kyle's voice replaced hers. "You're second in queue, hold your positions."

Elle glanced up at Chandragartha. "What happened?"

"I don't know, kiddo. Maybe somebody picked a fight with the wrong person?"

"Energizing," Kyle's voice said.

The world faded out and reformed in the shape of the Enterprise.

Elle stepped down from the dais and followed her sitters out of the room. "Thanks," Elle said, giving them both a hug. "Best first shore leave field trip _ever_."

They both laughed. "Our pleasure," Kyrios said. He handed her the holocam. "This is yours, actually, for future field trips."

"Awesome." Elle clutched it to her chest. "Thank you guys!"

They waved, and the three of them parted ways.

Elle went to her room and transferred the photos off the camera into the ship's computer for her use. "I wonder if there's a way to print these," she mused, flipping through the pictures. She paused at their first cheesy selfie. "This one's great. I'll have to ask Scotty."

On Argelius it had been evening but onboard the Enterprise it was still afternoon. Elle went for a snack at "dinnertime" and found the mess hall in an uproar. "What's wrong?" she asked Lt. Riley, sliding into the seat across from him.

He frowned. "Mr. Scott's been accused of murder."

Elle almost choked on her apple. "Wha- murder? Was it a woman? Stabbed?"

He eyed her warily. "How'd you hear that?"

"I just did," Elle said. "Uh..." She spotted Uhura coming in. "I gotta go." She stood up and practically sprinted over to Uhura's side. "Lt. Uhura, I need to talk to the captain, Scotty didn't do it. There's this alien parasite thing."

Uhura stared at her for a second and then nodded. "All right then." She grabbed Elle's hand and they marched out of the mess hall. "The captain's on the planet, still. We'll get him on the comm."

They went up to the bridge and contacted the captain. "This had better be important," Kirk's voice said. He sounded tense.

"I know what it is," Elle said into the mic pickup. "It's an evil consciousness that's jumped into Scotty. It's like, Jack the Ripper but energy."

Kirk sighed. "And how do we prove that?"

"I don't know, but if you beam up it'll come with and take over the ship. And then I think Bones tranq's everybody so nobody will get homicidal. I don't really remember the details because it was kind of scary and my parents didn't let me watch it."

Kirk sighed again. "Understood." Someone muttered something and he said, "Let me know if you remember anything else. Kirk out."

Elle and Uhura shared a glance. "Jack the Ripper?" Uhura asked.

"Yup."

**-/\\-**

The thing about being Star Fleet, you have to decide whether to endanger just one ship or a whole planet with millions of people on it - they beamed up to the Enterprise.

Elle did not appreciate being injected with a tranquilizer. "Owwwwwwwwww," she protested.

"Done," Chapel said, tugging her sleeve down. "Go make a fort or something before it kicks in, you have five minutes."

"Am I gonna sleep or just be really happy?" Elle asked.

"Both."

"Wonderful." Elle hopped off the biobed and headed for her quarters. Just before she entered her quarters, she started to giggle. "Lying liar," she observed lazily, tripping into her room. "That was two minutes. Maybe cuz I'm smaller." She collapsed on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. "Pretty..."

Elle really didn't remember anything after that, but at some point she fell asleep.

When she woke up the next morning, her brain was stuffed with cottonballs and Gilligan's Island was playing on her computer.

Elle sat up and pushed the hair out of her face. "Huh. I don't remember watching this."


	25. No Grain, No Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small transitional chapter.

Uhura grinned at her across the table, Cheshire-Cat style. Elle had never seen Uhura grin creepily before. It was terrifying. "What?" Elle asked.

Uhura grinned some more. "You have spent our last two class periods conversing solely in Federation Standard. Therefore, you've passed the requirements. You are now fluent."

Elle gaped at her, belatedly realizing the fact. "Wow... I didn't even notice!"

"Full linguistic immersion can do that," Uhura replied. "I checked with your other teachers and you've been speaking Standard half the time."

"Cool!" Elle fidgeted with her stylus. "Now what?"

"Now we can go back to learning Vulcan if you'd like."

It was Elle's turn to grin from ear to ear. "I would love that."

"Excellent."

They moved on to Vulcan, picking up where Elle had left off with Lady Amanda.

"Oh, and see Dr. McCoy after we're done," Uhura mentioned.

"Why?"

"So you can receive your intradermal universal translator."

Elle put her PADD down. "My what."

"Universal translator. Goes in your arm."

Elle's jaw dropped in outrage and then she pouted, folding her arms over her chest. "And you couldn't have given me that _before_?"

"No, because then you wouldn't have learned the language."

Elle sighed. "I bow to your logic," she muttered in sulky Vulcan.

The intradermal translator was a tiny black chip. One local anesthetic and a tiny incision and all Elle had to show for it was a band aid. The default setting was 'on', and to turn it off you tapped twice over the implant.

"Okay, but how does it actually work?" Elle pestered.

"You can download language packs to it," McCoy said. "Ask Spock, that's not my area of expertise. I prefer chem learning. Actually sticks, that way."

"But how does it get from your arm to your brain?" Elle persisted.

"It deploys a tiny nanobot that hooks up to your language processor," McCoy said.

"Cool!"

Uhura made her turn it off for her language lessons.

**-/\\-**

The captain was unusually sulky during their literature class that evening. "What's wrong?" Elle asked.

"Idiot bureaucrats," he said. "Think they're the most important people." Then he sighed. "Don't listen to me, Elle, I'm just grumpy we're guarding grain."

"Grain?" Elle leaned forward eagerly. "Is it quadrotriticale?"

Kirk cringed. "This is an _episode_?"

"There's Klingons," she informed him.

Kirk groaned. "You're kidding me."

"They poisoned it," Elle said. "The grain."

He sighed and closed the PADD. "All right. Give me the rundown."

"So we get there and there's gonna be Klingons on 'shore leave'," she gave exaggerated air quotes, "and there's a merchant and he's got these hamster-things called tribbles and they're like, born pregnant or something and reproduce a LOT and they get into the grain and die and that's how you know the grain is poisoned and it's kind of gross and Klingons _HATE_ tribbles and that's how you find out that the nasty bureaucrat's secretary is really a Klingon." Elle fell back in her chair, exhausted by her enthusiastic retelling. "I _love_ this episode, it's so hilarious." She glanced up at Kirk when he didn't say anything.

He was smiling at her fondly.

She sat up straight. "What?"

"There's nothing like seeing life from a different perspective," he replied, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Let's continue."

"Okay." Elle tried to refocus on the plot but couldn't resist an anticipatory wriggle. Maybe if they managed to avoid the tribble infestation she could keep one? Maybe? She'd need to recruit someone else to her cause... Maybe Spock. The captain couldn't say no to Spock.


	26. Trials and Tribble-ations

The Enterprise docked in orbit near K-7. Kirk and co beamed over to deal with business and the rest of the crew that didn't manage to get shore leave on Argelius were given leave on the starbase.

Elle went to the Rec Deck. She had gotten shore leave before, so she was trying to be mature about it and not beg for a field trip. She could play Minecraft all day and call it a staycation.

She selected a spot - beanbag facing the window- replicated a hot apple cider, and pulled a game console over to the beanbag. Perfect little corner to play in. She sat, and-

"Elle! How'd you like to go shopping with me and Pavel?"

Elle glanced up at Uhura in shock. "What, really?"

"Of course. Up, up, up, let's go. Young people need fresh air and adventure." Uhura tugged her out of the beanbag.

"There's no fresh air on a space station," Elle reminded her.

"Point still stands, sugar."

Elle grinned. "Cool."

Giotto cornered them halfway to the transporter room. "Hold it, missy. If you're right there's going to be Klingons on that station. Elle, protocol?"

She clasped her hands behind her back. "Stay with Lt. Uhura or Ensign Chekov at all times even for bathroom breaks. Do not approach the Klingons. Run away from kidnappers. When in doubt aim for the windpipe."

Giotto nodded. "Good job. You can go."

"Thanks, Chief." Elle gave him a grin.

They arrived on Space Station K-7 with little fanfare and decided to hit the shopping centers. There were three full decks for entertainment and commerce. "Ooh, toys," Elle said, making a beeline for the toy shop.

Pavel grabbed her by the hoodie. "Oh, no, we're not going in there."

"But engineering," Elle protested, walking backwards as Pavel tugged at her hood.

"Nope. We are here for Lt. Uhura first," he said firmly.

She sighed and turned around to cling to his arm. "You're a good friend," she said, mock-grumpily. Not that she minded the first store they went into was a beautiful clothing boutique...

Uhura picked up a gorgeous rich green and gold silk blouse. "What do you think, Elle?"

"You look like a goddess in anything," Elle replied honestly.

Uhura smiled at her.

Eventually they got tired of shopping for clothes and made their way to a lounge. They crossed paths with Kirk and Spock in the doorway. "Quadrotriticale," Kirk told Elle.

She grinned.

He handed her the vial of grain and left, muttering something about bureaucrats and headaches.

Elle sat at a table with a few crewmen from Ops while Chekov and Uhura went to the bar to order drinks.

Elle spotted Cyrano whats-his-name as soon as he entered the room. She almost shot out of her chair in anticipation, but she managed to restrain herself. She bounced in her seat impatiently as the trader approached the batender. She hid her mirth behind her glass of lemonade.

"What is so funny?" one of the Ops officers asked her finally.

Elle giggled into her glass. "Nothing."

He took the glass from her and sniffed it. "This isn't spiked, is it?"

"No," she retorted, rolling her eyes.

The tribble came out of the pocket.

Elle could hear it cooing from here. She stood up. "Scuse me." She started walking across the lounge and her gaze traveled over the other occupants of the room. She stopped on seeing the single civilian in the far corner. He looked familiar. "Odo?" Her eyes widened. Trials and Tribble-ations. TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS was happening NOW. Elle took a deep breath and tried not to squeal like an idiot.

Odo frowned at her across the room.

Right. Leave him alone. They're looking for old Arne Darvin, which was a whole other thing. She forced herself to go over to Chekov and Uhura. "A tribble!" she cooed, as the trader pulled it out of his pocket.

"It's so cute," Uhura said, instantly enamored.

"Don't buy any," Elle advised the barkeeper. "They breed faster than you blink."

Cyrano Jones' face turned an interesting shade of red. "How do you know about tribbles, young lady? They're a mighty exotic species."

Elle smiled sweetly. "Exotic, and dangerous."

"Dangerous? A tribble? It doesn't even have any teeth!"

Elle snatched the little vial of grain away from the tribble on the counter. "Oh, no, you're not having any offspring," she warned it. She tucked the grain into her shopping bag and picked up the tribble to pet it.

It cooed and trilled happily.

Before she knew it, Elle had a tribble in each hand and Chekov was arresting Cyrano Jones for transporting dangerous animals into the Federation. "We still need at least two," she insisted to the security officer trying to confiscate her tribbles.

"That's ten credits a head!" Cyrano insisted, even as station security took him away.

Uhura checked the time. "All right, we ought to head back to the ship."

They got back to the Enterprise. Thirty seconds later, the Red Alert began to blare. "Enter the Klingons, stage left," Elle said dryly. "Gotta go find the captain." She tucked the tribbles under her arm and booked it for the bridge. She nearly ran into Kirk and Spock as she turned the corner. "Whoops, sorry."

Kirk blanched at the sight of the tribbles. "I thought you said those things were dangerous, Elle."

"Yes, but, you still need them to prove that Darvin is a Klingon." Elle gave him the tribbles. "They don't like Klingons."

Kirk sighed. "All right. Let's get this over with." He and Spock continued to the transporter room.

Elle went back to the Rec deck, her stomach grumbling. They had shopped through lunch. "Potato and ground beef burrito," she requested from the synthesizer. "Cheese, salsa, and guacamole."

She finished her burrito and was contemplating a fruit salad when Kirk and Spock entered the rec room. Spock had one of the tribbles firmly in the crook of his arm, absently petting it. Kirk looked like he was two seconds away from laughing-or taking a picture.

Elle bounced up from her seat and approached them. "Hi," she said. "Where's the other tribble? Didja get the Klingon in disguise?"

"We did," Kirk said, sighing. "Of course, Captain Koloth disavows any knowledge of either the spy or the poison on Darvin's person. He was about to poison the grain when we found him."

Elle grinned. "Did you sic the tribbles on him?"

Kirk snorted. "Something like that. But, since that part of the chaos is over, we have no right to kick the Klingons off the station so there's still a chance something might happen to the grain."

Elle made a face. "I bet what's-his-face isn't happy."

"That is a massive understatement," Kirk replied.

"Where's the other tribble?" Elle asked.

"In McCoy's lab," Kirk said. "Technically it does fall under 'new species'."

"And this guy?" Elle asked, reaching out to pet the tribble.

"Well, someone had to take care of it," Kirk said. "Right Spock?"

Spock didn't even look embarrassed. "It is illogical to leave it in a cage," he said.

"Of course, commander."

Elle thought back to her memories of Trials and Tribble-ations. She really, really wanted to say hi to Sisko and Dax for funsies, and she knew that at some point they were going to end up in the same hallway. "Uh, captain?"

Kirk winced. "Something you've remembered?"

"No, I just, was wondering, since things are changed, can I like, shadow you for the rest of the episode?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You want to just follow me around?"

"Yup."

Kirk sighed. "Sure. If anything else happens you can give us advance warning."

"Cool."

The two senior officers ate and discussed paperwork and Elle played with the tribble. Then Spock took back the tribble and the trio left the rec room. "What're you gonna name it?" Elle asked.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Name it?"

"You can't just keep calling it 'the tribble'," Elle pointed out. "That's not logical."

"There is no logic in naming it as this and Dr. McCoy's specimen will be returned to the starbase, to be returned to the tribble homeworld," Spock replied.

"Oh." Elle looked at the tan tribble. "I'm gonna name it Simba."

Spock gave her a Look.

Kirk disguised his laugh as a cough and cleared his throat innocently when Spock turned to glare at him.

The nearest wall comm whistled. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."

Elle glanced around. Now. Sisko and Dax were somewhere around here... she spotted them and sidled away from Kirk and Spock. She walked up to Sisko and Dax. "Hi."

They glanced at her, startled. "Who are you?" Sisko asked.

"I'm classified," Elle said cheerfully. "I just wanted to say hi, because you guys are really cool. I didn't get a chance to talk to Odo, but can you tell him hi for me? And Worf and O'Brien and uh, everybody else."

They gaped at her and Sisko pulled her into the adjacent hallway. "Who are you?" he hissed. "Some kind of temporal agent?"

"Captain, I'm like, thirteen," Elle pointed out.

"How do you know who we are?" Dax asked.

"I told you, it's classified," Elle said. She glanced over. "Okay, they're talking about swarms of Klingons, I have to go." She paused. "And, if you actually wanted to approach him, captain, it should be fine. In disguise, of course." She gave them a smile. "Oh, and say hi to Kira. She's cool." She walked away from them, leaving Sisko sputtering and Dax grinning.

Elle rejoined the captain and Spock. "Let's make a deal," Kirk told her. "I'll let you go literally anywhere on the ship, and you steer us away from any episodes with bureaucrats. Deal?"

Elle laughed at him. "Sorry, captain, I don't think Star Fleet would let me do that."

"Darn," he said, mock-disappointed.

**-/\\-**

"The air vents," Elle said, facepalming. "I forgot about the air vents."

Kirk gave her a Look. "You couldn't have remembered _before_ I ended up neck deep in tribbles?" he demanded.

Elle bit her lip. "Sorry," she choked out, trying her hardest not to laugh. "I guess it's just a fixed point." She shuffled behind McCoy to hide her shaking shoulders.

A tribble fell onto Kirk's head and let out a piteous squeak.

Elle excused herself to go laugh.

Turns out, just one tribble sneaking out of Cyrano Jones' pocket could still cause a huge mess. One might even say, a tribble-ocalypse. Or a, tribble-ation? Elle snickered to herself.

Cyrano Jones was charged with disruption of a Federation starbase and given cleanup duty.

And, the grain was _still_ poisoned. The Klingons vacated real quick after that. And considering that none of the tribbles exploded, Elle figured the Deep Space Nine crew handled their paradox and left as well.

**-/\\-**

Somehow, the tribble named Simba managed to hide away in a storage room for three days before a maintenance ensign found her. By then it was too late to send it off the ship.

"I wonder how it got past the internal sensors," Kirk said, giving Spock a squinty-eyed look.

Spock looked like a veritable saint. "I could not tell you, captain," he said.

Elle hugged the tribble to her chest. "So can I keep it? Please? Please? I promise I won't let it reproduce."

"Having a pet is actually good for a young person," McCoy pointed out.

Kirk sighed. "Fine." He pointed a finger at Elle. "First litter it has, it's off the ship. Understood?"

She nodded. "Understood, yes, sir, absolutely captain."

McCoy stood up. "C'mon, Elle, we can set up a little biodome for your room."

She waited till they were in the hallway to fist-pump in silent victory.


	27. Solemnly Sneezed

"And that's how biochemistry saved the day," McCoy finished.

"Awesome."

McCoy glanced out of his office. "Oh. I forgot that Lt. Rizzo had an appointment. Give me a few minutes. You can read the rest of the slides and start your analysis, okay?"

"Sure." Elle flipped to the next slide. She glanced up a few moments later to check the progress of the appointment. Lt. Rizzo and Dr. McCoy were consulting a chart that definitely looked like birth control options. Now that was a topic... there were lots of relationships on the Enterprise, or people with spouses off-ship. She turned her attention back to her homework so she wouldn't invade the lieutenant's privacy.

She finished the last slide just as McCoy came back. "So what'd we learn?" he prompted.

"Can I ask a question that has nothing to do with this lesson?" Elle asked.

"Of course."

"What's birth control in this century like?"

McCoy blanched. "Why?"

"Cuz my mom's not here to ask her instead," Elle pointed out. She didn't even feel like crying when she mentioned her mom. Good job, self.

McCoy nodded. "I suppose you're never too young to learn good habits."

The options were a lot like twenty-first century options, just less side-effects. "They're required for all Star Fleet personnel unless that person is assigned with their significant other and they are specifically trying for a child," McCoy addded.

"Required for both guys and girls?"

"Yup."

"That's good."

McCoy nodded. "Now, most people choose the kind that makes your, ah, menstrual cycle vanish as well. Heck of a thing to try and keep up with in the middle of deep space or in the middle of an away mission."

"Makes sense," Elle acknowledged.

"It's not recommended for anybody under 16 unless you have medical reason," he informed her. "So don't think about it."

"One, ew, I'm not gonna try anything with any alien kids. And two..." Elle trailed off. "I haven't had any." Elle frowned. "That's weird."

"It's completely natural for it to come later," McCoy assured her.

Elle shook her head. "No, I mean, I had one. I started. At home. And then two weeks later I was here and I haven't had one since."

McCoy sat up straight. "And you're just mentioning this _now_?"

"Well I only had one, and then I kind of had other things to worry about since then," Elle protested.

"Maybe it's stress," McCoy muttered, producing a medical tricorder from his desk. He stuck his head out the door. "Christine, get me a blood kit!"

Elle grumbled silently. _Should've just kept my mouth shut, dummy_.

Somehow McCoy read her mind, or the expression on her face, and said, "Better that we figure out what it is now, than have it come up as a serious medical issue later, don't you think?"

"I guess," Elle said grudgingly.

They ran a battery of tests, took enough blood samples to make her dizzy, and sent her off to eat foods high in iron for the rest of the day. "And drink water!" McCoy hollered after her.

Elle ate a lot of spinach, drank a small aquarium's worth of water, and went to bed.

**-/\\-**

Elle woke up the next day with a headache and a sore throat. "You've got to be kidding me."

She draped her blanket around her shoulders and trudged back down to sickbay. "You've killed me," she accused McCoy. "Vampire physicians."

"The common cold," he diagnosed. "You probably got it from gallivanting around K7. Wash your hands and go back to bed. Try not to cough on anyone, I don't need an epidemic."

She sneezed and covered it with a corner of the blanket. "I can't believe you haven't cured it yet." She sneezed again. "Wait, what about Simba?"

"He, no, she? should be fine," McCoy said. "Go on, now. I'll have one of the nurses bring you breakfast in a bit."

Elle trudged back to her quarters, flopped back into bed, and went back to sleep. When she woke up, there was oatmeal in a thermos and a bowl of blueberries next to her bed. There were also two pillls in a little cup. A sticky note attached to the cup said, "Take after eating".

Elle ate, took the pills, and moved to the sofa to watch TV. The pills made her sleepy and she didn't even make it to the kidnapping in The Princess Bride before she passed out.

Nurse Chapel stopped by for lunch, armed with chicken soup, a hot buttered roll, and ginger tea. Also, a box of lotion-infused tissues.

"I love you," Elle told her solemnly and then sneezed.

Chapel handed her the box of tissues. "Also, Dr. McCoy has concluded you must have had a one-off menstrual cycle, probably your hormones kickstarting. It's not uncommon for girls to get one and then not have anything for a long time until their hormones develop."

"Really?"

"Yup. Your blood chemistry is actually more normal than it was when you first arrived, now that you're not eating food filled with toxins and hormones or being exposed to pollutants in the air."

"Oh." Elle blew her nose. "So I'm good?"

"You're good." Chapel patted her foot. "You have enough to entertain you?" she asked.

Elle nodded. "Got books, games, tv, I'm good."

"All right. Get some rest."

Elle ate the chicken soup and resumed her burrito-ing.

A couple of hours later, a Hispanic yeoman stopped by with a tea with lemon and honey. "Home remedy," he said. "My abuelita swears by it."

" _Gracias_ ," Elle said. "I think my abuelita does the same thing."

It made her feel better, but the soothing drink made her mind's eye fill with memories of her mother. Elle curled into the corner of the sofa, longing for her mom's presence. Even just her voice... she fell asleep.

**-/\\-**

It was the third day of her self-imposed exile and her cold had gotten worse.

"Elle."

"Hnnrgh." She shuffled away from the voice.

"Elle, wake up, sweetheart."

"G'way, m'sick."

"I know." Bones sounded repentant. Also worried. "Just need to ask you a question, real quick."

Elle gave up on being left alone and emerged from her pile of blankets. "Wh'z'gon'on?" she asked, and sneezed worriedly.

McCoy handed her a tissue. "Jim, Uhura, and Chekov are missing. Do you know where they are?"

Elle blew her nose and focused on the question. "How'd they go missing?"

"They were about to transport down to Gamma Two and then they disappeared."

Elle blinked, slowly running episodes through her snot-clogged brain. "...Are they not on the planet?"

"Not that we can find."

She sneezed again, one of those deep chesty ones. "Ow."

McCoy rubbed her back. "Sorry, kiddo. I'll let you sleep."

"But the captain-" Elle protested, struggling to get out of her burrito wrap.

"Don't worry, kiddo. Spock's looking under every rock, we'll find them eventually."

Something pinged dimply in Elle's brain. "They're not in this system," she said. "Spock is right." She glared at McCoy through watery eyes. "Don't fight with him."

"I won't," he promised. "Thank you, Elle, go back to sleep."

She curled back under her blankets, grumbling, "You two are always fighting."

Gentle hands tucked the blankets in. "We're working on it."

"Hmph. Let me know when we find 'em." Elle didn't hear his reply.

When she woke up, there was chicken noodle soup in a thermo-bowl and a note on her PADD. "Got 'em. Eat your soup."

Elle obeyed doctor's orders.

It took a week for her cold to go away. Elle spent the majority of that time watching TV and reading books.

"I love the feeling of breathing through two nostrils," she gushed, inhaling gustily. "The air, the decreased sinus pressure."

Kirk just chuckled. "I know how you feel."


	28. A Piece of the Action

Elle put her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. "Wait, wait, the Iotians? This is a real thing?"

"Violation of the Prime Directive and contamination of a pre-warp society is a serious matter," Spock said, his tone reproving.

"I know, Commander," Elle said, sobering. "It's just, you know, Chicago mobs in space is a little hard to take with a serious face."

"I take it you've seen this episode, then?" Kirk asked, quirking a smile.

"Uh-huh."

"So what are we looking at?" he asked.

Elle grinned. "Like I said. Chicago mobs. In space. Well, the planet. But somebody from the Horizon left them a book in the 1920's and they based their whole culture on it."

"Not unexpected," Spock said. "The Iotians are recorded to be highly imitative."

"Yup. And if you go down there, they're gonna try and hold you ransom for heaters."

"Heaters?"

"Guns."

"Ah."

Elle giggled as she recalled a scene from the episode. "Oh man, I've seen this episode so many times, it's one of my favorites. Spock, don't let him drive."

They all just raised their eyebrows at her.

"So how do we reason with them?" Kirk asked.

"Out-gangster the gangster," Elle said simply.

"You've got to be kidding."

"Nope. Spock looks incredible in a fedora, by the way. Blue pinstripe."

McCoy snorted so hard he started coughing.

Kirk pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. "We'll take that under advisement," he said, clearing his throat. "Thank you, Elle."

"Yup. Doctor McCoy, if you go down there, don't leave your communicator behind."

"...okay?"

"Cool."

They beamed back up about six hours later. "Man, you guys do look good in suits," Elle said, leaning on the transporter console. "Dang, we should have a Friday Costume Day. My kindergarten used to do that."

"Let me guess, you used to go as Spock," McCoy drawled.

Elle blushed. "No! Not all the time..."

Kirk laughed and plopped his fedora on her head. "Have a souvenir."

"Awesome."

**-/\\-**

"I honestly cannot right now."

"Cannot what?" Chekov asked.

Elle faceplanted into her work desk. "Everything," she groaned. "I can't do math with alphabet soup."

Chekov chuckled. "It's not that bad," he coaxed. "Let's try it again."

Elle groaned. "Pavel, I can't. My brain is mush. What'm'I gonna use this for anyway?"

"Maybe you will become a programmer," Chekov said. "You like engineering, yes?"

"Yes, but, ugh. I'm pretty sure I'm too dumb to join Star Fleet," she grumbled into her arms. "I'm never gonna catch up."

"You are plenty smart," he said. He patted her hair. "Sometimes the brain just has off-days." He reached over and turned off the computer. "Come on. We'll do something fun for a while, let the knowledge simmer back there."

Elle followed him to the Rec Deck. "Mario Kart?" she asked, watching him pull up a game.

"Racing: Central City Candy Edition," Chekov said. "I grew up with this game."

"Cool." It was basically Mario Kart meets Candy Crush but with no ads and not as garish as you'd think.

They played for about an hour and then Chekov paused the game. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better," Elle said, surprised to find it was true. "Thank you."

He smiled. "Tomorrow the math will make sense, I promise."

And he was right. The next day, Elle turned on the computer and started solving the problems like she actually knew what she was doing. "It's magic," she said, awed.

Chekov laughed. "Sometimes you need to step away from a problem to let your brain process it."

"My dad does that," Elle said, smiling wistfully. "When he's like stuck on a project or his client is being dumb, he'll drop everything and go watch TV, or he would take me to the park and we'd play basketball."

He nodded. "It works for all aspects of life. Except when you're hungry. That just makes it worse."

She laughed. "Nice."


	29. Space Amoebas

"Tilek svi'khaf-spol t'vathu - tilek svi'sha'veh."

Elle copied Lt. Uhura's precise diction. "Tilek, uh, svi'khaf-spol t'vathu, uhh."

"Tilek svi'sha'veh," Uhura supplied.

"Tilek svi'sha'veh," Elle repeated.

"Good job. You remembered the fricatives. Now what does it mean?"

Elle chewed on the end of her stylus. "It means... okay, that means heart, um, oh. The spear in the Other's heart is the spear in your own - you are he."

"Good job. We'll make you multilingual and a philosopher to boot."

Elle smiled at the sincere praise. "Nice." She looked at the next phrase. "You know, I read that when I was twelve."

"Read what, sugar?"

"Surak's teachings. They were in my favorite book called Spock's World. Man, I loved that book. Went to visit my mom's family once, and I took that book with me. Read it like four times in row while everybody else was napping."

Uhura smiled. "That would explain some things."

Elle grinned charmingly. "You mean my logical brain?" she asked.

"Sure." Uhura glanced at the chronometer. "Alright, let's do two more phrases and then wrap it up. We're on four shifts instead of three since everyone's been so tired lately. Only a few more days to R&R, Elle. Then we can go swimming under violet skies. Starbase Six has the best resorts."

"Ooh, nice." Elle cleared her throat in preparation for the next phrase. Then several details fell together in her brain and compiled into one cohesive pattern (and yes she needed to stop hanging out with the programming geeks from engineering). She almost choked on her own spit. "The Intrepid," she said, between coughs. "This is now. The amoeba."

"What?"

"We're on our way to Starbase Six," Elle said, her stomach sinking. "We're all tired. And the Intrepid is heading towards a giant space ameoba that's going to kill all of them."

Uhura put her PADD down and pulled her boots back on. "Let's go find the captain."

They found Kirk and Spock in one of the Rec Rooms, playing chess. "Lt," Kirk said genially, and then sat up straight at the looks on their faces. "Elle?"

"The Intrepid is in danger," Elle said. "That whole system that they're in."

"Gamma Seven-A," Spock supplied.

Elle pointed at him. "Yes! That one."

"In danger from what?"

"A giant space ameoba that eats energy," Elle said. "Sounds weird I know but it's true. We need to get the Intrepid out of there before it's too late."

Both men stood up. "Lt. Uhura," Kirk said.

"Yes, sir."

They all went to the bridge. "Alert Starbase Six and then get the Intrepid on the horn," Captain Kirk ordered. "Elle, can the Intrepid fight back in some way?"

"They need to get out of there," Elle insisted.

"We've been ordered to sector 39J," Uhura reported.

Kirk sighed and looked at Elle. "Can we just send the solution to the Intrepid, Elle? I don't know if we can take another mission."

"We kinda have to be there," Elle said, wincing.

"I can't get the Intrepid on the comm, sir," Uhura said. "And Starbase Six isn't responding either."

Elle grimaced. "They might have already been drained of too much energy."

Kirk sighed. "All right. Mr. Quinn, set a course for 39J, warp eight."

"Aye sir."

"Elle, what kind of time frame are we looking at?"

Elle glanced at Spock. "Uh, I don't know. They haven't died yet or exploded, so..."

"How do you know that if we can't get a hold of them?" Kirk asked.

Elle pointed at Spock. "He knows."

They all turned to look at him and then turned to look back at Elle. "What do we need to do?" Kirk asked. "How do we fight an energy-sucking amoeba?"

"I don't remember. I just know I can't afford to lose 400 Vulcans."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "And what are you going to do that requires 400 Vulcans?"

"Change the galaxy, I hope," Elle replied.

He nodded. "Very well, then. I will assist you."

"You have an hour," Kirk told them.

Elle and Spock went to the conference room and sat down. Elle let her mind drop into a meditative state and didn't even flinch when Spock joined her in a shallow mind-touch. It was familiar now, and their shared consciousness skimmed over the episode. Elle felt Spock mentally cringe at his actor counterpart's overacting and hastily fast-forwarded to the main plot.

Spock fell silent as they watched Kirk choose who would go in the shuttle.

Elle felt his silent resolve to spare Kirk the choice of sending one of his closest friends to his death as if it were her own conviction. _Is this what made you do it_? she couldn't help asking, thinking of the Wrath of Khan.

Their shared mental desktop began to change into the events of the second movie.

"No!" Elle panicked and started to pull away, out of the meld.

 _Peace, young one_ , Spock directed, holding her still mentally. He imposed an image of the Vulcan desert. "Come back to the events happening now," he directed.

Elle stopped flailing mentally but it was hard to refocus, like not thinking of a blue elephant after you've already thunk it.

 _That is not proper grammar,_ Spock said dryly.

She giggled and tried to bring herself back to Immunity Syndrome. Giant amoeba. Giant amoeba. Spock helped her find the place they'd stopped watching and then removed himself from the equation, maintaining a farther presence so as not to distract.

The episode finished and they both drew out of the meld. Elle looked at him nervously. "Did you see?"

"Only the events of this mission," he said. "You have become quite proficient at shielding."

"Okay. Good. That's, that's good." She refocused. "So. Antimatter."

"Yes." He stood up and helped her to her feet. "Shall we?"

"Now that we have the solution like way earlier, you're going to rig something to remotely blow the antimatter pod, right? Nobody's gonna take a header with a shuttle, right?" Elle tugged at his sleeve. "Right?"

"That is logical."

They reported to Captain Kirk and he ordered Sulu to increase speed.

"Entering Sector 39J," Chekov reported.

**-/\\-**

"Elle."

She jerked her head up at the sharp tone. Just cuz they knew what the problem was, they couldn't not go rescue the Intrepid in the depths of the amoeba. Hence the power drain, from both the engines and the people. "I'm not asleep," she declared.

"Good. Go get some coffee."

"Can't," she said miserably. "I reached my max. Computer won't give me more."

Bones sighed. "If I give you a stimulant now, you're going to crash all the harder later."

"I'd rather crash than die," Elle replied honestly. "Which, coming from a Gen Z-er is saying something."

"Good point." He took up a hypospray. "Arm, please."

The stimulant took effect like a shot of espresso, not that Elle actually knew what that was like, but she had a basis for comparison now.

"I'm going to go play Mario Kart now," she announced. "I bet my reflexes'll be like super fast now!"

McCoy snagged her sleeve before she could wander off. "Hold on. Stay in sight of others, okay, and _don't_ sleep. If it wears off come find me or Christine, okay?"

She gave him a sloppy salute. "Yes, sir."

"Don't call me sir," he griped.

"Yes, sir, Doctor Bones, sir," Elle said, giving him an innocent smile.

He squinted at her. "Out of my lab," he ordered. "Scoot."

**-/\\-**

It was officially two hours past the twenty-four hour mark and Elle was now at the point Bones described as 'pure toddler punch-drunk'. Everything was equal parts hilarious and world-ending, including the fact that Kirk was very, _very_ Iowan twang when exhausted.

**-/\\-**

"All hands this is the captain. The space amoeba has been destroyed. Everybody not on the skeleton crew go to sleep."

Elle cheered. "Can I go?"

Yeoman Barrows flapped a hand. "Get."

She got to her quarters and faceplanted into the sofa. "I'mma take a nap right here," she quoted, and couldn't even get a laugh out before she fell asleep.


	30. Tribble Litter

Consciousness came with a pounding headache, a stiff neck, and the eighty percent possibility that something fuzzy had died in Elle's mouth. She rolled off the sofa onto the floor and closed her eyes again.

The next time she woke up, her eyes pulsed in time with the drum inside her brain. Furry things had definitely died in her mouth and decayed considerably.

Oh no. _Simba_.

Elle popped to her feet and fell onto the sofa in the resulting headrush. "Uuuurgh. I need water."

She pulled herself to her feet much slower this time and tottered over to Simba's pen. "Simba?"

The tribble purred at the sound of her voice, seemingly unharmed by any soul-sucking amoeba.

"Okay. Good. Good girl." She pet it for a minute and then couldn't stand it anymore.

She brushed her teeth, showered, brushed her teeth again, and dressed in sweatpants and a soft cotton shirt. She still felt like cozying up to the nearest horizontal surface so she pulled on an oversized hoodie she may or may not have stolen from Lt. Riley.

She tucked Simba into one pocket and her meal card in another. First stop, Sickbay.

McCoy waved her over, looking more hollow-eyed than usual. "I forgot about the puffball," he said by way of greeting. "How do you feel?"

"Big headache," Elle said, passing him the tribble to scan.

"Drink lots of liquids and make sure they have electrolytes," Bones said, running a scan on her, too. "Stimulants dehydrate and so does sleep deprivation. Classes are cancelled until we reach Starbase Six. I think all of us are pooped out. Oh, and no caffeine."

"Cool."

"Well, you and Simba are good to go. Don't forget to drink lots of water."

"Okie-doke." She picked Simba up and carried it in her arms. It trilled peaceably.

She stepped into the Mess Hall and froze upon seeing approximately twenty Vulcans in the Mess Hall. They all turned to look at the purring tribble and the person holding it.

Elle blushed. "Good morning," she said to the room at large, and beelined to a table with Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu.

Uhura pulled out a PADD and and snapped a picture of her before Elle could sit down.

"Hey!" Elle protested.

"Sorry," Uhura said. "You just look too adorable, all sleep-mussed and holding Simba."

"You guys are in loungewear too," Elle complained. "How come you make it look cool?"

Sulu tugged at one of her braids. "Because we have _presence_. And no pigtails."

"Chekov could pull off pigtails," Uhura decided. "He's still round-faced."

"Hey!" Chekov protested.

"They're not pigtails," Elle grumbled mutinously.

Uhura snapped another picture of Elle's not-pout. "Go get breakfast," she advised.

Elle wrinkled her nose at the annoying grownups and went to the food selector. "Blueberry waffles, honey yogurt, and coconut water, please."

The selector replied promptly with her tray.

"Thank you."

"There is no logic in using polite manners with standard computer commands," said a Vulcan standing in behind her in line. He looked like he needs another solid twelve hours of sleep, too.

"I want to stay on the computers' good side when they gain sentience and the AI uprising begins," Elle replied, completely serious.

The Vulcan blinked at her. "Logical," he decided, after a moment.

"I'm Elle," she said.

"S'task," he said, nodding. "Second officer of the Intrepid."

"Nice to meet you."

"May I ask why you are on the Enterprise?" he asked. He was looking at her fuzzy slippers.

"They're testing civilian presence on starships for future implementation," Elle said, remembering her cover story. It was, in part, true, so it wasn't like she was lying. "Do you like my slippers?"

"They are illogical," he decided. "The outer surface does not cushion the feet and provides no insulation."

"But they're fluffy," Elle said. "That's the point."

"I see," he said in the same tone Spock had when he meant let-the-crazy-human-spawn-have-her-way-before-my-brain-implodes-from-illogicalness.

She excused herself and went back to the table. She dug into her tray and gave Simba one blueberry.

To her surprise, S'task came back over, cup of tea in one hand. "What is that?"

"A smoothie," Elle wanted to say so bad it hurt. "A tribble," she said instead.

He sat next to Chekov and across from Elle. His fingers twitched on the handle of the tea-cup.

Elle bit her lip. "Can you hold it?" she asked, plopping Simba on his side of the table. "I fed her already and she can't get into the food."

He picked it up gingerly and pet Simba's fur. As soon as Simba purred, the Vulcan melted.

Elle and Uhura shared a small smile.

The Fleet officers talked about space amoebas and the Intrepid's upcoming rehaul while Elle focused on her breakfast. Something came to her after a minute. "Wait," she said, accidentally interrupting Sulu, "wasn't S'task like Surak's greatest pupil and then the leader of the Sundered?"

S'task raised an eyebrow. "The names of the Sundered were never released," he said, giving her a Look.

Ehehehe, open mouth, insert foot. "Cmdr Spock is teaching me history?" she tried.

His expression cleared. "Of course. The principal family of the House of Surak would have access to that information."

Is this what a Vulcan fanboy looks like?

Now that one Vulcan had pet the tribble, the others took it as mandatory to seek the tribble, and therefore Elle, out. She got to practice speaking Vulcan and one person even said her accent was satisfactory.

"Hey, captain?"

"Hm?"

"Would it be bad if we gave a couple of tribbles to the Intrepid?"

Kirk fixed her with a captainly glare. "Did That Tribble have a litter?" he asked.

"No, sir. I was just thinking, you know, Vulcans really love tribbles and they all almost died, and, it'd be nice. And Vulcans aren't going to let the tribbles multiply because that would be illogical."

Kirk studied her for a moment and then smiled. "It's a nice gesture," he said. "Fine. Permission granted. But when we get to Starbase Six the only tribble on this ship had better be Simba."

"Yes, captain."

**-/\\-**

"You realize you now have four hundred Vulcans wrapped around your fingers, right?" Sulu asked Elle, as they watched Intrepid head off into the black.

Elle grinned. "All part of my plan to rule the galaxy," she deadpanned dramatically.


	31. Rick Rolling and Scottish Acents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief chapter, second half inspired by a post I saw once...one of my readers has told me it shattered his worldview so I don't know :)

"I never used to like hugs," Elle mused, comfortably squashed between Kirk and Uhura on the couch, Kirk's arm around her shoulders. Everyone shifted to make room for Scotty on Uhura's other side and Elle curled closer to Kirk.

He patted her arm. "Not surprising," he said. "With drastic change comes the need for simple human touch. And, you know, being cooped up in deep space, people also start getting more tactile."

Elle turned her head to observe the other movie-goers. Most everyone was squashed into couches, lazily leaning against each other, socked feet tucked up under thighs or heads resting on shoulders. "'S'nice," Elle decided. "Not like my universe. The 21st century is the worst."

Uhura leaned over and pressed a kiss to Elle's cheek. "Getting sleepy, Elle?"

"Nuh-uh," Elle said.

The next thing she knew, her head was Uhura's lap and the older woman was gently carding her fingers through Elle's hair. Elle almost blushed when she realized her mismatched socks were on display with her feet on Kirk's lap, but she was warm and sleepy and the third movie was just starting...

"We're back to Legos?"

"Miniblocks," Scotty corrects. "The fundamentals of robotics and programming." He gestured to the piles of colored blocks, chips, and attachments. "Go nuts. If anything catches on fire, holler." He stepped out of Elle's classroom.

Elle poked at one of the modules to see if it would catch fire. Nothing happened. Probably safe, then. For Scotty/Engineering levels of safe.

She went through the tutorials and exited her classroom to go find Scotty. She found him methodically stripping and refilling plasma conduits. She sat next to him. "Hey Scotty?"

"Aye, lass."

"I have a question."

He made an affirmative noise. "Pass me the 02 spanner, yes, thanks. What's your question?"

"Is that really your real accent or did one day somebody say 'oh hey, you're Scottish and your name's Scotty haha you must be like, really Scottish,' and you just really decided to lean into it?" Elle asked in a rush.

Clang! went the spanner. He stared at her, open-mouthed, ignoring the plasma dripping onto the floor. "Wha' kinda ridiculous question is tha'?" he asked, becoming exponentially more Glaswegian.

"Well Lt. Riley is super Irish but he barely has an accent and Ensign Mackenzie is from Aberdeen but she's got a real light accent and that other engineer from K7 was from Glasgow but _he_ isn't as accent-y as you," Elle said, shifting uneasily.

"Ye have wounded mah soul," Scotty said.

"Sorry." She peered up at him expectantly. "I won't tell anyone, not a single soul. I swear."

"Swear on the Enterprise's engines," he said mock-solemnly.

"I swear."

He sighed. "You know, after thirty years, you're the first person to ask me that," he said in a perfectly understandable Scottish-lite accent, like the main guy from the Monarch of the Glen.

Elle's jaw dropped. "Wait, no, put it back," she protested weakly. "That's so weird..."

He snickered. "My first day at the Academy, some young idiot asked me that very question. I was already feeling the odd man out, coming to the Academy after getting civilian degrees and experience as an engineer, and being a decade older than all the rest. I didn't think twice. It was my grandfather's accent, thick as any Scots you've ever heard. And like you said, I just went full Scottish madman on 'em and never looked back."

Elle couldn't stop gaping. "...I'm really sorry I asked," she said. "Can we pretend I never said anything? It's like Spock without ears, I can't handle this."

He cackled until he had tears in his eyes. "Aye lass. Ah, the things you come up wi'."

She sighed in relief. "Much better. What did your family say?"

"Tha' I'm off my rocker, so to speak."

Elle grinned. "Nice."

Another crewman entered that section and Scotty turned back to the console. "Pass me the 05, lass."

"Yup."

"And don't think that I haven't noticed you didn't start on your robot."

Elle went back to her classroom. She couldn't get the whole concept out of her head. What even-She grinned. "Oh, I'm a genius..."

Over the next two weeks she managed to construct and program a little droid that did the Cupid shuffle. She set it up in the Rec Deck as a curiosity and somebody, probably from Ops, put it on a pedestal with a plaque. "Dance demo, 21st century Earth." That wasn't the good part, though.

She programmed the droid to sing "Never Gonna Give You Up" any time someone picked it up off the pedestal.

It nearly gave a Maintenance ensign a heart attack when he went to clean that table. Nobody really understood the concept of rick-rolling but that's okay. They still thought it was hilarious. It was a silent tribute to Scotty's trolling an entire 'fleet. Elle was gonna take that secret to her grave...


	32. Brain In a Jar

"Hasta que el sol se des-van-ez-ca," Elle sounded out. "What does Spanish have to do with Vulcan?"

"You get some of those vowels," Lt. Anderson replied. "And you should know Spanish anyway. It's part of your heritage."

"Well, I guess." She turned the page on the computer and a moment later it fritzed out. "Uh..."

Lt. Anderson's whacked at her own monitor. It began to flicker with coordinates. "Huh. That's weird." She tapped the comm. "Maintenance, the computers in this section are... hello?"

Comms were down, the computers were down, and there was a high-pitched sound in the air, pressing on Elle's brain. "What is that?" Elle asked, clapping her hands over her ears. Her tongue went numb. "Ohhh, th's weird. Don' like tha'."

The all-call clicked on. "This-captain-speak-. Distress sig-follow it-Kirk out."

"Well he didn't sound worried so we're fine," Lt. Anderson said.

A few moments later, as the Enterprise changed course and accelerated, the high-pitched sound and the pressure on Elle's brain disappeared. She slowly lowered her hands from her ears. "Are we good? That was weird. My ears are ringing."

Lt. Anderson frowned. "Mine aren't."

"You didn't hear that?"

"No... Sickbay. C'mon."

"N'awww," Elle complained, getting to her feet. "Why?"

"This is the Enterprise. Anything out of the ordinary should probably reported before it kills a poor redshirt."

They entered Sickbay and Lt. Anderson towed Elle over to Nurse Chapel. "She could hear whatever was happening with the computers," the lt. reported.

Chapel frowned. "Elle?"

"It hurt my ears, like a really high pitched sound, and then I couldn't feel my tongue. I don't know, I couldn't really hear it but it _felt_ like sound, you know? And now I have a headache."

"Doctor McCoy," Chapel called, picking up a medical tricorder.

He came out of his office, grumbling. "Darn fool computers. What's up?"

Elle repeated her symptoms and tried not to fidget while Bones ran a scan.

"Hm."

She opened her eyes. "What?"

"Spike in neurotransmitters," McCoy said, frowning. "These readings look like Spock's after a psychic event. Lt, get Spock down here."

"Yes, doctor." Anderson squeezed Elle's hand and booked it.

"Are you sure it's not just me being like way younger and hearing something you guys didn't cuz you're old?" Elle asked, kicking her heels against the biobed stand.

"If it was that, other 18- and 19-year-olds would have reported symptoms," McCoy said.

"Oh." Elle caught a glimpse of her reflection in the monitor and pulled her head back to make a thousand double-chins. She wrinkled her nose to complete the look, and then turned back to McCoy.

He was staring at her. "What was that?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Elle shrugged. "Don't have a phone, so my ugly selfies are now live! With audience on occasion." She tipped her imaginary hat. "Here every week, tip your waiter."

"You're so weird," McCoy said fondly.

Spock came in, followed by Lt. Anderson. "Doctor?"

"What's going on with the computers?" McCoy asked.

"A signal emanating from a nearby solar system caught the comm channel designated for distress signals and overrode our helm controls," Spock said. "We have no choice but to follow."

"Did you feel it?" Elle asked. "Cuz I felt it." She tapped her forehead.

Spock frowned. "I felt nothing, however, it would be difficult to breach my mental shielding. For a moment, I did sense..." He extended a hand. "May I?"

"Yeah."

He barely pressed his fingers to her face before retracting his hand. He frowned almost visibly. "It was most definitely a psychic force of some kind, if you were able to feel its effects."

"Do you think they found what they were looking for, that's why they eased off?" McCoy asked.

"Most likely. Elle, when did the noise recede?"

"When the ship accelerated."

"I see." Spock clasped his hands behind his back. "To impose such a will on an external mechanical force... I must inform the captain. Elle, instead of meditation this evening we will work on crafting mental shields."

"Okay."

Spock strode out.

McCoy frowned. "I wanna keep you here until your headache goes away, just in case something else happens. Lt. Anderson, you can bring the class down here, right?"

"Yep. We were just doing some reading."

After two Tylenol and some orange juice, classes resumed. Elle finished reading the chapter of the book in Spanish, had dinner with the nurses, and went to meet Spock.

They convened in a quiet corner of the Observation Deck and sat across from each other. Spock waited until Elle was sufficiently calm and then started instructing her.

"You already have basic mental shields," he said. "Today, you will be reinforcing them. Imagine your mental shields..."

By the time they were done Elle's brain definitely hurt and she was pooped. She went straight to bed and fell asleep thinking of brick walls.

**-/\\-**

The next morning she got up as usual and had some oatmeal and a fried egg in her quarters before going to math class. The office where she and Chekov worked was empty. "Is today an A day?" she asked aloud, frowning. She pulled up the calendar. It was definitely math class today... She tapped the comm. "Elle to Chekov."

"Chekov here. Oh! I'm so sorry, classes have been cancelled today, we are on yellow alert."

"...why?"

Something beeped. "I have to go," he said, sounding harried. "Ask the yeomen." He signed off.

Elle frowned. "Well that weird," she said, and picked up her PADD. She walked back down the hall and got in the turbolift.

The turbolift stopped at the next floor and picked up Spock. He blinked at her.

"Spock," Elle said, pleased. "What's going on? Why are we at yellow alert? Did we figure out where we were being led? Are we there?"

"Uhhh, yes," he said, still visibly shocked.

Elle took a step back, immediately wary. "Who are you?" she demanded. "You're not Spock."

He raised both eyebrows. "How do you know?"

"Who are you?" she asked again, inching toward the comm.

"I am Henoch," he said. "Your captain, first officer, and a female doctor gave their permission for myself and my companions to inhabit their bodies."

Elle's eyes widened. "Henoch?" she asked. "Sargon? And, his wife?"

"How do you know that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

It was weird to see such blatant suspicion on his face. "I... I just do," Elle said. "Give his body back, right now."

"I will not," he said. "I still have need of it."

She hit the emergency stop and darted towards the corridor. "No! I know what you want to do to Sargon."

He dashed after her. Even if it wasn't really Spock, Vulcans were still fast. He caught her by the wrist and pushed her against the wall. "Scream and I will dissolve you and anyone else who comes to your aid," he threatened. "If you know anything of us, you know my power is vast."

Elle bit her lip so hard that a moment later she tasted blood but she didn't dare move.

"Good little mortal," he said patronizingly. He tilted his head to the side. "I can see the layout of the ship in your mind."

Elle was half-dragged, half-marched to her quarters and then Henoch sealed the doors from outside. She tried the comm. It was dead. She tried the computer. It didn't work either.

"So that was terrifying," she told her reflection in the black screen. "How do I get out of here?"

She surveyed her options. No comm, no computer... tablet? She pressed the power switch. Nothing. She pried open the back of it and checked it. The battery was fine. She scowled. If Henoch was as powerful as Sargon he could probably keep her locked in as long as it took for them to finish their android bodies. Great. But, on the other hand, if he thought of her as a useless little mortal, would he really waste time on her?

At least the plumbing still worked.

Elle checked the door again. Nothing. And it was the middle of the morning so literally nobody would be on this deck.

She flopped back on the bed to consider her options and her eyes fell on the air vent. The air vent that ran parallel to the Jefferies Tube. The Jefferies Tubes that Giotto had insisted she memorize.

"Aw, yisss." She rolled off the bed and grabbed her tool kit from under her desk. The customized tools were smaller but just as sturdy. "Not proper safety procedure but oh well," she muttered, climbing on top of her desk. She pried the cover of the air vent off and set it on the floor.

The little tool kit folded into a belt, so she tied it around her waist and grabbed the edges of the air vent. "I can't do a pull-up," Elle realized, as her fingers slipped and she dropped back onto the desk. "That's so lame."

Back down off the desk. She placed her chair on top of the desk, and then clambered on top of both of them. She pulled herself up into the vent and shimmied further down the tube to a junction. This was the spot where they connected.

A few turns of the wrench and she managed to get into the Jefferies Tube. From there she crawled to the next deck and popped out into the corridor, startling Lt. Riley.

"Elle! Goodness!" He helped her to her feet. "What're you doing gallivanting through the Jefferies Tubes?"

"I need to talk to the captain," Elle said.

Lt. Riley frowned. "The captain's indisposed, Elle."

"I know, but I need to talk to him. And Sargon. And his wife."

"Well, c'mon then, I'll walk you." He offered his elbow with a dramatic bow and tipped an imaginary hat.

She giggled and accepted his arm.

They went down to Sickbay. Thankfully, Henoch was absent but Bones, Sargon, and what's-her-name were there, speaking with Chapel.

Elle went up to the three glowing orbs. They were flickering dimly. "Hi, guys," she said softly, patting the nearest one.

"Elle, if it's not urgent, not right now," Bones said, grimacing.

"It's about Spock," Elle said. "I mean, Henoch."

"What has he done?" Sargon asked.

"He's planning to kill you and take Spock's body for himself," Elle said. "I knew what he was doing and he locked me in my room. I got out through the Jefferies Tubes." She patted her tool kit.

Sargon looked shocked. "I can't believe it, after all this time, has he learned nothing?" he said, shaking his head.

Chapel checked the time. "It's time for your next injections, Sargon, Thalassa."

Elle gasped, part of the plot coming back to her. "Wait, no. Henoch's using the injections to weaken the captain's body."

Chapel frowned. "No he's not!" she shouted.

"Nurse!" McCoy said, shocked.

Chapel pressed a hand to her temple. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I..." She shook her head.

Sargon pressed his lips together grimly. "He has altered your memory. I can sense it. And the contents of the hypospray. They would indeed kill this body after repeated injections."

"We gotta get Spock back in his body," McCoy demanded. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Sargon looked sorrowful. "I'm sorry. I had hoped it would be different, but no. We were gods, once, but this physical world can no longer hold us." He looked at Thalassa and a Look passed between them. "It holds too much temptation."

The two of them approached their respective globes. A flash of light engulfed both bodies and then Kirk and Dr. Mulhall were back in their own bodies.

A moment later, Henoch ran full-tilt into Sickbay. He saw Elle and snarled, and that was a terrifying expression on Spock's face. "You!" he growled, extending a hand.

Elle flinched as flames sprung up around her, but they had no heat and a moment later they vanished.

Lt. Riley promptly stepped in front of her.

"Henoch, stop!" Sargon's voice commanded, booming and deep in its intensity. "Vacate Mr. Spock's body at once."

"You are not my master," Henoch sneered.

"I would wish us to be equals, but we are not," Sargon said. "It is time for us all to depart. Our civilizations are gone, and we are not meant to be here."

"No!"

Light from the two orbs roiled around Spock's body and then vanished. His body fell to the floor, and then a moment later he sat up. The light in Henoch's globe flickered wildly, an aura of pure anger roiling from it.

"Jim?" Spock asked, as visibly confused as he allowed himself to be. "I... captain, what happened?"

Kirk helped him up. "Good to have you back, Spock."

Elle gaped as a bolt of lightning literally came out of nowhere and struck Henoch's orb. It shattered and blackened and Elle felt an almost visible 'whump' as he/it/the energy being dissolved. " _Whoa_."

Spock, too, looked owl-eyed. "Indeed."

Sargon spoke again. "We are sorry for the trouble we have caused," he said. "We shall also depart."

Elle spoke up. "Wait, before you go, are you the Preservers?" she asked.

"We do not know," Sargon replied. "We would hope that you are the descendants of our species, but so much time has passed, we cannot know. Thank you, Captain Kirk, for allowing us to use your physical bodies."

"I wish things had turned out differently," Kirk said.

"As do I. Farewell."

The two orbs slowly dimmed until they went solid black.

"Well that was spoopy," Elle murmured, trying to bring back some levity. Not like three people had just died right in front of them, ending a race of ancient, powerful people, or anything.

Kirk snorted. "What?"

"Nothing," Elle said. "Just a meme." She pushed her hair out of her eyes.

McCoy touched her arm gently. "And what's this?" he asked, pushing her sleeve back.

Elle stared at the dark purple bruise on her wrist and forearm. "It's where he grabbed me," she said. "Ow. It didn't hurt until I noticed it. Ouch."

Spock frowned. "Henoch did this?"

"He locked me up so I wouldn't tell anyone I knew what he was doing," Elle said, and grinned. "Too bad for him I only rate as puny mortal, so I climbed out the air vents. Kind of felt like Hawkeye... I want pizza now."

"First, let's get this taken care of," McCoy said, rolling his eyes. "Then you can have as much pizza as you want."

"Is that a promise?" Elle asked eagerly.

"Just don't make yourself sick, please. I had enough of stomach aches with Joanna, I don't need you overindulging in junk food, too."

"Yes dad," Elle said, giving him an innocent smile.

Spock still looked disturbed. "I ask forgiveness," he said quietly.

"It wasn't you," Elle protested. "Literally, you were literally body-swapped. Vessel. Swapped. Orb and meat sack swapped. Wait, no, that sounds wrong. Anyway, point being, it's illogical to say sorry for something you didn't do."

Spock accepted with a bow of his head. "Your logic is satisfactory," he said, and the topic was dropped.

Elle got her bruise taken care of and then all of them went to the Mess Hall.

"Dealing with energy squids makes me hungry," McCoy grumbled.

" _Being_ an energy squid makes me hungry," Kirk chimed in, grinning.

"What was it like, anyway?" McCoy asked.

"Like being weightless," Kirk said, his gaze un-focusing. "It was infinite, it was..."

"Beautiful," Spock supplied quietly.

Elle leaned against his sleeve for a moment and then said, "Please don't decide you'd like to be a brain in a jar, because you haven't shown me how to nerve pinch people yet."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I assure you, I would not choose to do so," he said dryly.

"Good."


	33. Nazis? Again?

"We won't be able to discuss the next section tomorrow," the captain said apologetically. "Star Fleet has directed us to retrieve a historian and cultural observer and tomorrow we'll be approaching the planet."

Elle frowned. "Did he disappear or something?"

"We haven't heard from him in over six months," Kirk said. "We have to determine if he's died or gone native."

"Oh. I hope he's okay."

"So do I."

Elle bit her lip. This sounded familiar. "So, where are we going?"

"A solar system with two Class-M planets. One is called Zeon and the other is called Ekos. They-"

"John Gill is a Nazi!" Elle blurted, and pressed a hand to her mouth.

Kirk's eyes widened. "What?"

"I _hate_ this episode. You can't go down there."

He placed his hands on her arms gently. "Calm down, Elle, we're not there yet. Tell me what's going on, please, one step at a time."

She took a deep breath. "Right. Okay." She told him as much as she remembered about the episode and finished with, "So if you could retrieve him without having to go down there and get beat up, that'd be nice."

"Trust me, I don't want to do that either," Kirk assured her.

They adjourned to a conference room and the captain called the senior officers. Elle recounted what she remembered from the episode.

"The first priority is to find John Gill and remove him from the Ekos' influence," Kirk said. "From there, we can get him to retract his statements, and hopefully return the Zeons to their homeworld."

"I will never understand humans," Spock said. "How could a man as brilliant, a mind as logical as John Gill's, have made such a fatal error?"

"He didn't watch Spiderman," Elle volunteered. "Wait, no, not Spiderman. That other quote."

Uhura smiled faintly. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"That one."

McCoy frowned. "A man who holds that much power, even with the best intentions, just can't resist the urge to play God. We need to run stricter psych profiles for anyone who's going to observe or blend in with a native culture."

"The non-interference directive is there for a reason," Spock agreed.

"Be that as it may, our first priority is to get Gill and these two civilizations out of this mess, first," Kirk said, redirecting the conversation.

They discussed a plan of action but Elle didn't really hear it. She was still caught by what McCoy had said.

"Elle?"

She looked up from the table. Everyone was standing, ready to leave. "Huh?"

"Did you think of something else, lass?" Scotty asked.

"Am I playing God?" Elle asked, hating how her voice wobbled. "Because I know, everything's different because of me. I have..." She thought about Khan and her mouth went dry. She thought about the Romulans and the Klingons and time travel and everything that would happen in the future. Her stomach twisted. "He ruined two planets," she said, "what if I accidentally ruin the whole galaxy?"

All the adults shared a glance and everyone but Kirk and Uhura filed out. Uhura gave Elle a hug and held her hand. Kirk sat across from her. "Why do you think you'll ruin the galaxy?" Kirk asked. "Are you basing your knowledge on the Nazi party?"

"No," Elle retorted instantly. "I would _never_."

"What's your motivation then?"

"To help you," Elle replied. "I just want to help. Like you guys help others."

"Would the ends justify the means?" he asked.

Elle frowned. "Like, doing something bad because it would work out okay later?"

He nodded.

"I don't think so," Elle said, biting her lip. She thought about the Prime Directive. "Wait, something bad like, by the rules, or bad, like, morally?"

He quirked a smile. "Morally."

"I wouldn't do that. You can't base stuff on bad morals." She was only a teenager, but she'd seen enough of her own planet's corruption and decay based on greed and selfishness that she never wanted to end up like that. "That's what's wrong with Gill."

Kirk leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I trust you not to ruin the galaxy," he promised, his smile warm. "You're a very self-aware young woman and as long as you don't lose that, you'll be okay. And whatever ultimately happens to us, that's not your fault, okay?"

She nodded.

"Good girl. And, as Mr. Spock would say, because the timeline has been changed, how do you know you know enough to predict the actual future events?"

Elle blinked. "Uh... I don't?"

"There we are then." He held out a hand to help both women stand. "Let's go stop some Nazis."

Of course Elle couldn't be on the bridge during this point, so she wandered down to the yeoman offices and plopped onto a beanbag and tried to distract herself with watching tv on her PADD. They were Star Fleet officers, they'd handled it in the show, they could handle it in real life.

She ate a lot of junk food that day, trying to keep her nerves under control.

Finally, the away team beamed back up, John Gill in the center, and Kirk obtained permission to open mediations with the Ekos and the Zeons.

"All in all, a success," Kirk said, as the senior officers and Elle enjoyed a midnight dinner.

"You got punched in the face by a Nazi," McCoy grumbled.

"Yeah but I punched him, too," Kirk said, satisfied.

"You're a regular Captain 'Murica," Elle told him dryly.

Kirk grinned. "I always liked those comics."

"That explains so much," McCoy drawled, rolling his eyes.

"That means Spock is Tony Stark," Elle realized. "Noice."

"Don't start," McCoy said. "I don't want to be a superhero."

Elle started to laugh. "Wait, no, you'd be Hank McCoy from the X-Men. That's so perfect, oh my goodness."

Kirk and Chekov sniggered.

McCoy's eyes narrowed. "Who is that?"

"A doctor," Elle said innocently.

"Hmph."


	34. Kelvan, Not Kelvin

"Yup, and then twist, block, good girl, jab, okay, good job. Next time bring your foot forward, move your center of balance lower, just a bit." Giotto gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice. Go again."

Elle squared up against the ensign from security.

Just as Giotto said "Start", the Red Alert began to blare. "Elle, quarters," he ordered, and he and Ensign Mai ran out.

Elle hurried to her quarters. She took a lightning fast shower and put on regular clothes. What episode was this? Or was this even an episode? She laced up her sneakers and checked the computer.

"Red alert. Intruder alert. Security to Engineering. Security to Life Support. Security to bridge. Repeat, intruder-" The all call fell silent.

Elle grabbed her tribble and hugged it. What was going on?

The all-call clicked back on. It wasn't Uhura's voice. "Crew of the Enterprise. We are the Kelvans. We have taken control of your ship. We have your captain and away party on the planet. Do not resist or the non-essential personnel will be eliminated."

Elle's stomach dropped to her toes. The Kelvans were ruthless in their episode, and as far as non-essential, she was pretty darn. She took a deep breath. Her orders were to stay in her quarters. Hopefully they wouldn't do a room by room sweep and she could stay hidden till the captain got back. She sunk into the sofa corner. There was nothing she could do.

One of the Kelvans appeared in her cabin a moment later.

She stood up hastily.

He blinked at her. "You are a child."

"Yes."

"Come with me. Leave the animal."

She dropped Simba back in its space and allowed herself to be ushered out. She contemplated resisting but she definitely didn't want to be cubed or destroyed. "Okay."

He took her down to engineering and put her in front of a defiant-looking engineering crew, frozen but still aware. "You will configure the Enterprise to the given specifications. This vessel will journey past the galactic barrier and go to the Andromeda galaxy for the glory of the Kelvan empire. Your orders are given," he said, and put the little device up to Elle's ribs. "Cooperate or the child dies."

Elle's eyes widened but she stayed silent, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't want to die.

The engineering crew was unfrozen a moment later. "We'll do it," Scotty said, shooting her a worried look. He turned back to the Kelvan. "Don't hurt the lass. We'll cooperate."

"No tricks," the Kelvan said.

Elle sat in the corner and basically feared for her life. Scotty came over to her corner to work on that console.

"You all right, lass?" he murmured, keeping his focus on the console.

"I'm okay." Elle twisted her hands. "Don't, don't put in the thing. Later, when Spock comes in."

Scotty stilled for a moment. "This an episode?" he asked.

"Yeah. They'll know what you're doing, they'll cancel it out, even if the captain gives the go-ahead. Don't do it."

Scotty gave her a hard look. "Are you sure, lass?"

"I'm sure. They're way more advanced. They won't let us blow up the Enterprise."

He nodded. "I'm trustin' you, then." He finished his work on the console. "Stay safe."

"You too."

Elle was kept in the corner of engineering as a warning example until the crew finished the modifications. She asked for a datapad and was refused. She did the times tables in her head and got up to the fifteens before she got frustrated. Still no on the PADD. She started to recite as much Vulcan as she could remember and had a conversation with an imaginary Vulcan that she named Shrek. "I mean, technically, it fits the requirements for Vulcan names," she told the imaginary Vulcan when he expressed his imagined outrage (logically, of course). That didn't last very long, since not even imaginary Vulcans could put up with bored teenagers.

She moved on to singing under her breath. The Kelvan, what's-his-face, got fed up about three Disney songs in and told her to shut up. Well, he told her, "Cease immediately." She did.

Elle was bored out of her mind by the time the Kelvan told her to get up.

She was marched up to the bridge this time. The captain and the bridge crew started to glare even more when Elle as brought in.

"This was not declared a generational ship," the Kelvan said. "Why is there a child?"

"She is under our care," Kirk said, glaring daggers. "Do not harm her."

"If you cooperate," the Kelvan said. "If you and your crew do not, then your actions will have killed her." He shoved Elle forward. "Remember that."

Kirk caught her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Don't take any chances," he murmured. "They can turn people into cubes."

"I know," Elle said, giving him a Look.

Kirk kept his poker face and didn't say anything but he squeezed her shoulder lightly.

Elle was allowed to stay with them until the Kelvans started cubing nonessential people. Uhura, Chekov, and the engineering crew were gone in seconds. Elle hid behind Kirk when the Kelvan, Rojan, aimed the device at her.

"She's essential," Kirk insisted. "Don't cube her."

"Essential for what?"

"Our cooperation," Kirk said, ice in his eyes.

Rojan shrugged. "She won't strain our resources. You may keep her."

They were removed to the briefing room.

"All right, Elle, what do we do?" Kirk asked.

"They've been humans for too long," Elle said, "they're starting to think and feel like humans, not Kelvans. We've got to capitalize on that."

Another Kelvan entered at that moment. Tomar, or whatever. "You must eat," he ordered.

They all got the same meal, fruit with a nutrient-dense meatloaf. Not bad, as replicator food went. Elle forced herself to choke it down.

"I do not understand why you take the trouble to consume this bulk material to sustain yourselves," Tomar said. He held up what looked like a tin of mints. "We have ascertained that these contain all the nutritional elements."

McCoy snorted. "Before you condemn it, why not try it?"

Tomar nodded. "I believe I will. Assist me."

Kirk waved a hand. "It's your idea, Doctor. Go ahead."

"All right, I'll show you how to work the selector." McCoy got him the same meal everyone else received.

They watched Tomar practically inhale his food, humming with gusto.

"See?" Elle whispered.

"If they all respond to stimulation of the senses, then maybe we can distract them. They can't have been able to handle the senses yet. If we can confuse them enough, we can get those devices from their belts," Kirk decided.

"That seems reasonable," Spock said, "and it correlates with the mental impressions I received from Kalinda."

Kirk nodded. "All right. It may be our only chance. Look for any way to stimulate the senses. Elle, we're going to need your help. Pick one."

"The one on the bridge," Elle decided.

"All right, when you think of something, go for it."

Scott stood up. "I can think of one way right off." He went over to Tomar. "Lad, you're going to need something to wash that down with. Have you ever tried any Saurian brandy?"

The two of them exited the briefing room.

"Well, we're not seeing them again," Elle said wryly.

"I'll be in sickbay," McCoy muttered. "I have an idea." He wandered out, munching on a melon slice.

Kirk and Spock shared a glance. "May I suggest that we focus our efforts on Rojan and Kalinda, captain," Spock said.

"I'll take Kalinda, you take Rojan," Kirk said.

"Precisely."

Elle put a hand over her eyes. "I don't wanna see no kissing."

Kirk snorted. "We'll try and avoid it."

They dispersed, leaving Elle in the empty briefing room. How was she going to hook a Kelvan into being human? From what she'd seen of Drea she was very focused on science and steering the ship and she showed less inclination to interacting with the crew.

Okay, so Drea was like Spock in a way. What did Spock like besides science and chess? Art, music...

Elle grinned. Music. That was guaranteed to stir up a human's emotions. She grabbed the PADD off the table and looked up the ship's database.

She did some research and then meandered up to the bridge. Hopefully this worked.

Drea looked over at her as Elle entered the bridge. "You should not be up here," Drea said.

"I have permission," Elle said. "I won't touch anything." She sat in the navigator's chair next to Drea and started up the PADD. She put on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

"What is that?" Drea asked.

"It's music." Elle turned up the volume. "Nice, isn't it?"

"It is intriguing," Drea allowed.

"How about this one?" Elle changed it to Bach.

"It is mathematically precise," Drea said, her brow furrowing as she listened to it.

Elle let it play out and then switched to the opening song from The Sound of Music.

"What is _that_?"

"More music, but with singing." Elle queued up The Phantom of the Opera next.

Drea gradually got less and less involved with her console as she began to pay more and more attention to the music issuing from the tablet's speaker. "I think I like this music," she said. "Show me more."

Elle grinned. Hook, line, and sinker. She let Drea have the tablet and stared at the main viewscreen. They were in the void between galaxies... Whoaaaa. That was so crazy...

**-/\\-**

By the time Kirk, Rojan, Spock, and McCoy got up to the bridge, Drea was completely immersed in listening to Bohemian Rhapsody at full volume.

"Seriously, Elle?" Kirk asked, snickering.

"What? This is a classic!"

Rojan handed back command to Captain Kirk and they headed back to the Milky Way galaxy. In the meantime the other Kelvans went around the ship de-crystalizing the cubed crewmen.

Elle stayed in the Observation Deck eating ice cream and watching the Milky Way get larger off their bow.


	35. Captain Kirk's Amazing Camping Adventure

The Enterprise, with its souped-up engines, made it to the nearest starbase in less than two days. There, the Kelvans were duly processed for citizenship in the Federation and Captain Kirk decided not to press charges on them for abducting a starship. "Trust me if Rojan had punched me any harder I would have," he grumbled good-naturedly.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "After you provoked him I'm surprised he didn't," he said.

After speaking to the starbase commander, Kirk made an announcement to the crew. "Due to the technological advancements installed in the ship, we will be staying docked for a minimum of a week to run tests and study this new technology.."

Elle, listening to the announcement, asked Chekov, "Wait, so is this going to affect how fast warp speed works in the future?"

"Well if we can't it working, then no," he said. "We have to study it first."

"Oh, okay."

"Which means," Kirk continued on the announcement, ignoring the fact that all and sundry were listening to him and McCoy banter, "anyone not on the engineering teams can have shore leave."

Elle fistpumped. "Yes!"

Chekov grinned. "Wonderful. There is a Russian restaurant I would like to go to again."

Classes were dismissed for the day and Elle went around looking for someone to take her to the starbase.

"Sorry, Elle, I promised my boyfriend we'd go sailing."

"Sorry, kiddo, I'm on reserve for the engineering teams."

Elle sighed. People were rapidly disappearing into the starbase and the accompanying planet and at this rate she'd have to stay behind on the ship.

Kirk and Spock came around the corner and Elle, dragging her feet, almost crashed into them. "Oop," Kirk said, betraying his midwestern upbringing as he grabbed Elle's arms to keep her from falling. "Where are you going in such a sulk?"

"I'm not sulking," Elle said, trying not to sound like a baby. "It's just nobody's available to take me on the starbase."

Kirk smiled. "Serendipitous," he said.

"Huh?"

"We were gonna hunt down McCoy and see if he wanted to go explore," Kirk said, with all the eagerness that his crew loved him for. "Let's go?"

"Awesome."

Turns out McCoy had actual things to do, so Kirk, Spock, and Elle were on their own. They beamed over to the station. First, they had to go see the base commandant as a courtesy. They made a funny picture, Kirk striding along, flanked on the right by Spock gliding along and Elle on the left, trotting to keep up with their longer steps. She almost lost them in a flood of Star Fleet officers emerging from a VR deck but Spock's dark hair stood out and Elle hurried to catch up.

She hooked her fingers in the braid of Kirk's sleeve instead.

He smiled and held her hand. "Short legs," he teased kindly.

"Yup."

They were admitted to the office after a moment's wait. "Well, well, if it isn't Star Fleet's dynamic duo," the base commander drawled. "You're giving my engineers fits with this new tech you've brought in."

"We try our best," Kirk said, grinning.

"And who's this?" the base commander asked, looking at Elle. "You keep picking up strays, Jim. You trying to make a case for fatherhood?"

Elle didn't like his tone. She distracted him by sticking her hand out. "Elle Wilcott," she said.

He shook her hand and nodded. "Commodore Friesen. How did you get caught up with these crazies?"

She smiled at him sweetly. "I stowed away."

He chuckled and turned back to Kirk'n'Spock.

Elle amused herself by looking at the pics of his family on the shelves. She waved goodbye and followed Kirk out.

"Nice evasion," he told her, amused.

She grinned guiltily. "I mean technically I did stow away. It's the truth, from a certain point of view."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars IV, A New Hope," Spock intoned solemnly.

Kirk grinned, delighted. "How do you know that?"

"I asked him if lightsabers could be real. He didn't know what that was so we watched them," Elle replied, grinning.

"Lightsabers are illogical," Spock said.

Kirk beamed at him and slung an arm around Elle's shoulders. "You've made my day," he decided.

Elle saw the souvenir store and paused. "Ooh."

"Let's go in," Kirk decided, tugging her in that direction.

They went into the store which was part curio shop, part bookshop, and part magical sparkly fairy glitter bomb. Elle took a deep breath, glancing at all of the shiny pretty things. She barely noticed Kirk and Spock sharing an amused glance over her head.

"Ooh, look." Elle wandered off.

An hour later, they emerged with three small shopping bags. Elle bought a small holographic snow globe that had 500 planets loaded on it. Every time you shook it, it came up with a different planet landscape and precipitation native to that atmosphere. It also glowed in the dark. Oh yeah, and she got a necklace with shiny beads from Tau Ceti III.

The captain came away with four more paperback books. And Spock bought a tiny crystalline chess set.

"Could we be any more stereotypical?" Elle asked dryly.

"Only if all four of these books were about sailing ships," Kirk said.

"Touche, captain." Elle strung the necklace over her head and settled it against her collarbone. "Yay! Space jewelry." She tapped at one of the beads with her fingernail. "This doesn't happen to be radioactive, does it?"

"I do not believe so," Spock said.

"Hmph." Elle giggled at the thought of Star Trek Beyond.

They beamed back to the Enterprise for the night. "Tomorrow starts a week-long shore leave," Kirk told Elle. "I was planning on taking a group camping. You want to come?"

"Yes!"

"Great. Lt. Campbell will tell you want to bring. She's coming, too."

Elle liked Lt. Campbell. The Ops officer was always kind and ready to play any video game that Elle wanted. She went to the nearest wall panel and touched the control. "Hey, Alexa," she said. "Where's Lt. Campbell?"

The computer didn't actually respond to the name 'Alexa', but as long as Elle's finger was on the control the computer would answer any question she posed. She was pretty sure that whatever limited AI resided in the Enterprise computer core appreciated being addressed by a name. "Lt. Campbell is on the Rec Deck."

"Thank you."

Elle found Lt. Campbell playing the space version of Paper Mario. "Uh, Lt?"

"Elle, did the captain find you?"

"Yup."

"Good, I made you a list." The lt. handed her a PADD with the camping list. "And always bring extra socks and underwear. It takes all the fun out of it if you're sitting there with frozen toes."

"Yes ma'am." Elle took the list and went to go pack. She stacked out the number of pants, shirts, underwear, socks, and replicated two sweaters, a flannel, a hat, and a waterproof jacket. She regarded the stack of things with pride. "Problem," she said aloud. "I do not have anything to put stuff in." All she had was a little fanny-pack which would fit approximately two pairs of socks.

Her cabin replicator wasn't keyed for anything but clothing.

She trekked down to SS&R, Supplies and Requisitions. "Cmdr. Chanax?" Elle asked, poking her head into the den of storage and miscellaneous parts.

"Whatdya need, Elle?" he asked.

"A camping backpack or something like that, that I can carry," Elle said. "Please."

He walked over to the selector. "What color?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh, I don't know."

"That's not a color."

"Purple," Elle said randomly.

He input the parameters and a few moments later the replicators spit out an Elle-sized backpack with purple and khaki swirls. "Eh? Eh?" he said.

"It's perfect," Elle said. "Thanks!" She hugged the backpack to her chest and went back to her quarters.

She managed to stuff everything in the backpack and went to bed.

Her alarm woke her up early. She ate a hearty breakfast, grabbed her bag, and marched down to the transporter room chanting, "Camp! Camp! Camp! Camp!"

Captain Kirk's Amazing Camping Adventure Away Team was composed of: the captain, duh. Spock, the Holder of the Space Blankets and Coffee. McCoy, Hoarder of the (giant) Emergency First Aid Kit. Lt. Campbell, Bringer of S'mores. Sulu and Chekov, the Energetic Carriers of the Stuff. Ensign Morelos, Guardian of the Guitar. And Elle, the Smol One.

"All right, everyone, pick a buddy," the captain ordered.

Elle edged over to him. "I pick you."

He smiled. "Good, because I was going to pick you, too."

To Elle's amusement and no surprise, Sulu and Chekov had already agreed beforehand, and the two lower decks grabbed each other before one of the senior officers could choose them. Begrudgingly, McCoy and Spock picked each other.

"All right, let's go."

They beamed down to the planet's starbase hub and from there they rented a hovercraft. Spock and Sulu figured out the native GPS system while everyone else loaded up the shuttle. McCoy made sure to scan all the food items that went into the cargo, grumbling about food poisoning.

"As long as we don't end up in the middle of the ocean, it will be okay," Chekov said.

"That was one time, Pavel," Sulu griped, the back of his neck turning red.

Elle stifled a giggle.

"Okay, y'all load up and buckle in," McCoy ordered, shooing people in.

Elle got the cool swivel seat behind the cockpit and strapped in. Ensign Morales double-checked her safety harness and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Here we go," Kirk said, sliding into the pilot's seat.

Sulu sat in the copilot's seat. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive, sir?"

"Nope."

Elle saw Sulu wince. "Yes, sir," Sulu said, resigned.

They took off from the ground probably faster than they should have, the g-forces pressing them into their seats.

"Dang it, Jim, I don't want to have to realign everyone's spines!" Bones hollered from the back.

The captain just giggled (yes, James T. Kirk does giggle) and leveled out their course. "20 minutes to the campgrounds!" he declared.

Elle swiveled around to face the others. "Ensign Morelos, what can you play on your guitar?"

"Lots of things, I suppose," he replied. "Spanish songs, Mexican songs, some acoustic versions of electric guitar, and a few popular ballads."

"No country," Campbell said.

Morelos grinned. "One country?"

"No."

"No country," Morelos promised, resigned.

The shuttle ride zipped by and Kirk smoothly landed the shuttle. "And you were worried," he teased McCoy as they filed out of the shuttle.

"I'm still worried," McCoy griped. "The one thing worse than deep space is deep wilderness."

"Deep time," Elle said dramatically, doing equally-flamboyant jazz hands.

McCoy bopped her on the nose. "Don't even think about it."

She hugged him. "Don't worry, Bones, it'll be great!"

"Oh well, if you say so," he drawled, picking up his backpack. "Lead on, captain."

Kirk consulted the map and pointed in one direction.

Spock raised his eyebrow.

Kirk consulted the map again and sheepishly turned it upside down. He pointed in the other direction.

Elle choked on a giggle and hid behind Lt. Campbell.

They hiked a well-maintained path and came up to a clearing surrounded by majestic purple trees, their feathered branches reminding Elle of weeping willows. Except, you know, purple. Another trail led away from the campsite towards the river, and the last trail meandered towards the central campground site where the park services department watched over everything.

Elle helped Sulu, Kirk, and Campbell set up the tents and the other team supervised food storage and investigated the trail. Chekov came strolling back a few minutes later. "We picked the right one," he declared, pleased. "It is shallow enough to wade out in one spot and ze current is not wery strong."

Elle fist-pumped. "Woo!"

Morales snagged the back of her T-shirt before she could run off. "Hold it, señorita," he warned. "You promised, no going anywhere alone."

She grabbed his hand. "Well, come onnn."

McCoy chucked a bottle of sunscreen at them. "Put this on," he ordered. "We don't need sunburn to ruin this trip."

Elle obediently sprayed the fine white coating over her exposed skin and then tossed it to Kirk. "Here, captain."

Morales finally allowed himself to be tugged down the trail, the captain trailing behind them.

The river was _perfect._ Elle dipped her toe in to test the water. Not freezing cold. She stripped off her T-shirt and shorts, revealing her swimsuit, and ran into the water. She dunked her head under, shook the water out of her face, and turned around to face the others.

Morales stuck his hand in the water and retreated, shuddering. "Ugh, no, that's too cold," he said. "How did you do that?"

"I grew up with the beaches of the Pacific Northwest," Elle taunted. "Cold as ice! This is _nothing_."

"How nice for you," Morelos grumbled.

Chekov and Sulu raced past the captain and Morelos standing on the bank and jumped into the water. "Not too bad," Sulu declared, coming up for air.

"Not as cold as Russia," Chekov added, splashing Elle playfully.

She shrieked and splashed him back.

"Hey, wait, no splashing!" Morelos begged as he slowly inched into the water.

"It's not our fault you grew up in Mazatlán with hot water, dude," Sulu said, his eyes glinting. "Besides, you know the best way to get used to it is get-dunked!" He and Chekov pounced on the hapless ensign and dragged him into the water.

He shrieked like a two-year-old and came up spluttering. "No fair!"

All four of them turned to look at Kirk, still standing on the bank and watching them with a smile. His smile dropped when they started to grin. "Oh, no, gentlemen, I do not have my swim trunks on," he said, backing away from them. "Don't even think about it."

Elle saw Spock coming up the trail and hid her laugh behind her hands. "Hey Spock! Do it for the vine!" she yelled.

Spock frowned at her. "I beg your pardon?"

Kirk whirled around so fast at the sound of his first officer's voice that his shoe caught on a loose rock and he tripped backwards. He yelped and grabbed for Spock's arm to balance himself. Spock was already reaching forward and when Kirk's weight was added so suddenly both of them overbalanced and fell into the river with a splash.

Everyone gaped at their two senior officers, soaking wet in jeans and flannels, Spock looking like a particularly miserable cat, and started to howl with laughter.

Kirk splashed Elle good-naturedly. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he said, and peeled off his soggy flannel. He threw it onto the bank and followed it with his two boots.

They splashed and swam around until McCoy and Campbell came and joined them. McCoy rolled his eyes at Kirk and Spock. "Really?"

"They fell," Sulu said helpfully.

"You are not allowed to catch your deaths of cold," McCoy threatened.

"In that case I will return with dry clothing," Spock said, not-eagerly-because-that-is-an-emotion. He squelched out of the water and headed up the path.

"Bring me back my swim shorts!" Kirk hollered.

"Yes, captain," came the reply from the trees.

Elle floated lazily on her back and stared up at the deep blue sky. It was starting to tinge orange at the horizon. She wiggled her toes in the water and smiled as a dragonfly-ish creature skimmed over the water and zoomed away from her.

Spock came back a few minutes later, dressed in what seemed like three layers of clothing, and tossed the captain his swim shorts.

Kirk went and came back, and now that everyone was properly attired and they had an impartial referee, they decided to play water chicken.

"Someone's gonna poke an eye out," McCoy grumbled.

Kirk boosted Elle onto his shoulders and they squared up against Chekov and Campbell. Campbell was larger but Elle was smaller and harder to hold on to. Elle used one of the moves Giotto had shown her and knocked Campbell half off Chekov's shoulders.

"Winner!" Sulu cheered.

"Nice move," Campbell complimented her.

"Thanks!"

They splashed around and dunked each other until the sky began to blaze sunset. "Dinnertime," Kirk announced, shaking his hair out like a dog and spraying water everywhere. "Let's go, team!"

Elle shuffled out of the water and Spock handed her a towel. "Thank you." She bundled up in it and put on her sandals.

They dripped merrily back to the campsite and changed. Kirk started the campfire and McCoy put on some baked beans.

"We should have pancakes for dinner," Elle said.

"Mm, that's the best," Campbell agreed.

They had vegan pancakes for Spock's peace of mind and chowed down.

Elle slapped at her leg idly. "The skeeters are out," she said.

McCoy shrugged. "Well, we can't have sonic repellents because of the Elven One here, so you get a spray."

Elle reluctantly went downwind and sprayed herself with mosquito repellent. At least it smelled like mint and not chemicals. She sat back down. "Yuck."

"Better than space malaria," Kirk reminded her.

"And that's the tea, sis," Elle said absently, raising her fork to her mouth. She noticed everyone staring at her. "What?"

"That's a new one," Kirk said, smiling.

"YouTube," Elle muttered through her pancake. "It means yup."

"A unique phrase," Spock said, and they left it at that.

"Who wants marshmallows?" McCoy asked, holding up a metal canister.

"You, Doctor McCoy, are offering us blobs of pure sugar?" Kirk teased, mock-aghast.

"This is purely for the psychological benefits," McCoy said. "It's your business if you make yourself sick eatin' too many."

"And that's the tea, sis," Chekov murmured to Sulu, who promptly choked on his coffee.


	36. Four Space Dads, a Space Mom, and 400 Space Siblings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today y'all.

Stuffed to the gills with good food and marshmallows, most of the group retired to their tents for the night. Elle wasn't quite sleepy yet so she huddled closer to Spock on the log. He let her lean against him, probably because he was cold, too.

She watched the flickering campfire and let her eyes drift upwards, following the tendrils of smoke as they snaked upwards to the night sky. Even with the campfire you could see the stars shining like diamonds. And there, moving in a slow, lazy arc, were the station and the Enterprise, the largest dots of light in the sky.

Elle yawned. And then she yawned again. And then again.

McCoy chuckled. "I think it's time for bed, sweetheart."

"Yeah, I'guess," Elle mumbled, standing up. She kissed Kirk absently on the cheek in passing and did the same to McCoy. She went into the tent she was sharing with Lt. Campbell and fell into her sleeping bag.

Just before she fell asleep she heard, "Jim, are you crying?"

"No," was the hasty reply. "I just, she's come a long way."

Elle realized then what she'd just done. She blushed hotly and pulled the sleeping bag up to her nose. It didn't seem like they'd minded, though. She went to sleep.

**-/\\-**

"Elle." Something poked her foot.

"Nngh."

"Breakfast."

"Nnnhhhh." She flopped an arm over her face.

"Well, she's dead, Jim," McCoy announced wryly. "You can eat her share of bacon."

Elle scrambled out of the sleeping bag, tripping over her boots. "Wait, no, I'm up, I'm up!"

"Aw, darn," Kirk deadpanned.

They ate breakfast and then Kirk cleared his throat. "I have a surprise," he said. "Who wants to go horseback riding?"

Elle threw both hands up, nearly knocking over her plate. "Me!"

Everybody else agreed, so they cleaned up and headed down the trail to the main campground center. The stables were a little ways after that.

"Miniature ponies," Elle cooed, grabbing onto McCoy's arm. "Booones, look at the tiny baby ponies oh my goodness I love them so much."

The park ranger leaning against the fence let them inside and Elle got to cuddle with the tiny horses. "I'm in love," she said dramatically to Sulu. "I want one. Do you think it would fit in a Cargo container?"

"No," he said, amused. "And you already have a pet."

"I know, I know."

Once Elle managed to tear herself away from the miniature ponies, they were introduced to their actual mounts for the day.

"This is Buttercup," the ranger said, leading Elle to a golden horse with a dark brown mane. "She loves kids and she's the most gentle horse I've ever met."

Elle offered Buttercup a carrot and smiled at the horse. "Hi, Buttercup."

The horse nuzzled her face.

Elle giggled. "Nice."

Buttercup was already saddled and ready to go, and after a couple of false starts Elle managed to get on the horse.

The park ranger made them all do a practice circle around the paddock and then they were off on the trail.

"This is so cool," Elle said, for the fiftieth time, as they wound through the trees.

Buttercup tossed her head in seeming agreement.

Kirk turned his horse and came back around to them. "How we doing?" he asked.

"Totally awesome," Elle told him.

He grinned. "Good, I'm glad."

"Say cheese," McCoy said, holding up a holocamera and snapping a pic before they could move.

They followed the trail to the top of the ridge and looked out over the entire campgrounds, the river in the distance. "Oh, this is nice," Morelos murmured, smiling.

Elle took back her holocamera and snapped a couple more pictures.

They went back down the trail and back to the stables. Elle's legs were stiff and she half-jumped, half-fell out of the saddle.

Kirk caught her before she could fall. "Whoop, easy there."

"Thanks, captain."

"Come on, Spock, you don't need to mind-meld with the horse," McCoy said irritably.

Spock ceased his staring contest with the horse, gave it a final pat on the nose, and fell in line next to McCoy. "I was not mind-melding with the horse," Spock protested. "One cannot mind-meld with a horse."

They bickered agreeably back down to the campsite, providing amusement for the rest of the party.

Elle helped make dinner that night: roasted vegetables and fish. "Is it cheating if we didn't catch this ourselves?"

"You can't fish in this river."

"Oh. Never mind."

After dinner they sang a truly atrocious rendition of Camptown Races and then Morelos played his guitar.

"I know that one," Elle realized as he played a soft Spanish melody. "My mom used to sing this." The memory sent a soft ache through her chest, but it wasn't the sharp pain she would have gotten a month ago. For better or worse, she was adapting to this universe. It was, nice. She leaned against McCoy and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Because, you know, sometimes a family was four space dads, a space mom, and four hundred space older siblings. Okay, that was enough fluff. Elle stuck a marshmallow in her mouth. She grinned. "You guys ever played Chubby Bunny?" she asked.


	37. Social Commentary

After a glorious week of hiking, swimming, light sunburns, and eating way too mamy s'mores, shore leave ended and they returned to the Enterprise. Elle had a very nice tan, if she did say so herself, and she knew how to start fires now, which would be useful in the future.

Another week in orbit around the base and the Enterprise was fully restored to its former glory. "And a good thing too, cap'n, for the mods the Kelvan had us put in woulda blown us up regardless," Scotty informed them at breakfast the day they shipped out. "They miscalculated the effecct of transwarp on duoneutronium. Woulda sheared us clean in half."

"Good to know," Kirk said after a startle moment. "And now?"

"Better than ever, captain."

"Excellent, Mr. Scott, thank you." The captain glanced at Elle. "Did you know about that?"

She shook her head. "I had no idea."

"Hm."

She suppressed a shudder. If they hadn't managed to take back the ship, they would've died in the void between galaxies, lost for another three hundred years. "Well, at least that didn't happen," she said, trying to be matter-of-fact. "Where are we going now?"

"HQ asked us to investigate the whereabouts of the Exeter," Kirk said. "We haven't heard from them in six months and their quarterly report is late."

"The Exeter," Elle said, frowning. "Who's the captain?"

"Captain Ron Tracey, good man."

Elle bit her lip. "Where'd they disappear?"

"Somehwere around Omega Four." Kirk's gaze sharpened. "You recognize it?"

"Omega," Elle said slowly. "No, it's not that... that's Voyager... Omega, something. Oh, man, what was it?" She smacked her forehead a couple of times with the heel of her palm, trying to trace it back. "Oh... right. It's the cocaine episode."

The adults around the table startled. "Cocaine?" McCoy questioned. "That's been eradicated for two hundred years."

Elle started to laugh. "No, it's not really cocaine, it's just that's what we called it because it looked like little lines of coke, except," she sobered. "Except they're all dead. Sorry. It's not funny."

Kirk set his jaw. "Tell us what you know."

Elle narrated what she remembered of the episode. "And then you give this great rousing speech about democracy, very Captain America of you, and that's it. The end."

"The shock of losing his whole crew must've driven him mad," McCoy muttered, shaking his head. "Advocating genocide in this day in age..."

Kirk looked angry now. "And in doing so, breaking the Prime Directive," he said. He stood up and crossed over to the wall comm. "Kirk to bridge. Increase speed to warp six."

"Aye sir," said Sulu's Gamma shift pilot. "ETA, eight hours."

"Understood. Kirk out." He sat back down at the table. "We'll have to be incredibly careful, try and extract him before causing anymore damage to the native populations."

"What about restoring their democracy?" Elle asked. "What if there's really an American flag? Isn't that really weird, finding that way out here?"

"That part has to be fiction," Sulu said kindly. "There's no way a civilization would parallel Earth that closely and we have no record of a colony this far out."

Elle thought about the time period Star Trek was made in. "Yeah, you're right."

**-/\\-**

The neat thing about not having to switch back and forth and keep pacing and timing in mind, aka not living in a television show, is that Star Fleet has its people carry button cams on their insignia as well as recording feeds from the tricorders. So Elle could watch the hazmat team wander the deserted Exeter on a livestream. Not that it was anything other than terrifying watching them scan dehydrated crystals that used to be people.

The hazmat team came back to the Enterprise, ran through strict decontamination protocols, and McCoy reported to the captain. "They've been reduced to their organic components, completely drained of all liquids," McCoy said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"And everyone on the planet gets infected?" Kirk asked.

"Looks like," McCoy said. "If we go down there, we have to stay long enough to pick up whatever immunity they've got."

"Hopefully we don't have to go down there at all," Kirk muttered. He turned to Uhura. "What have you discovered so far, Lt?"

She removed the earpiece from her ear. "My department has been scanning all outgoing signals from the planet, and so far we've been able to confirm Elle's knowledge. There was a war in the last generation or so, and the race called the Kohms won, practically exterminating the other side. The Yangs, as they're known, were reduced to almost stone-age civilization. The entertainment broadcasts we've been able to pick up portray them as almost Neanderthal-like."

Elle leaned on the dividing rail. "Seriously? It's real? The universe is really producing social commentary on Earth history?"

"Elle?"

"Sorry, I'm fourth-walling."

"What?"

"Never mind me, how did they get here?" Elle persisted. "They have to have some kind of history channel, we can scope out their like, Ancient Aliens documentaries and figure out how Earth got copy-pasted onto this planet."

"Our first priority is removing the Exeter crewmen," Kirk reminded her.

"Okay but after that we can figure it out, right?" Elle asked. "It could be important."

"If we find more evidence directly correlating with Earth's history, then yes," Kirk said patiently.

"Cool." Elle checked the time. Three minutes to her next class. "Oop, excuse me."

Kirk waved a hand. "Go on. We'll keep you updated."

"Thank you, sir." Elle left the bridge and headed for Engineering.

**-/\\-**

That evening Elle headed for the observation deck. The captain wasn't there. Cmdr. Samir sat there instead. "Sorry, Elle, the captain's not back yet," Samir said.

"They went down to the planet?" Elle asked, surprised.

"Yup."

Elle snorted. "Of course."

**-/\\-**

She was asleep when the comm chimed. "Elle here," she mumbled, reaching out to slap the button. "Wh's up?"

"An American flag," Kirk's voice said.

Elle sat up in bed, completely awake. "For reals?"

"For reals. Report to the conference room."

"Aye sir." Elle ignored the closing of the comm channel and rolled out of bed. She stomped into her sneakers and pulled a cardigan on over her pajamas. She snagged her meal card as she went out the door and made it to the conference room in record time.

The senior officers were all there, as well as the joint heads of Anthropology and Archaeology, Cmdr. Samir, and Cmdr. Sha'len. Elle got a cup of tea from the replicator and slid into the seat next to Chekov. To her relief, she wasn't the only person in pajamas.

"Bones?" Kirk asked, opening the meeting.

"Well, the reason we couldn't distinguish Captain Tracey from the rest is that, biologically, the natives of Omega Four are completely human. Besides the constrained gene pool, there's no mutations, abnormalities, or anything to distinguish one of them from one of us right now."

"So, what," Sulu said, "somebody picked up a cross section of Americans and East Asians from the middle of the Communist era and plopped them on Omega Four?"

"But why?" Chekov asked.

"Maybe they thought humanity was going to extinguish itself and created a backup colony," Scotty offered.

"Or they wanted to study the results if the communists won, but without disturbing the entire planet," Uhura suggested.

"Pure speculation," Spock said. "We cannot make assumptions about these as yet unknown people and their motives." He turned to the two dept heads. "Have your people been able to discover any archaeological sites of interest?"

"We've scanned the planet and marked four locations of interest," Samir said. "These seem to be underground structures that are intact, approx fifty feet under the surface. We've been scanning with more detail and it seems that the current inhabitants, the Yangs and the Kohms, have only been here for three hundred years."

"So somebody literally just transplanted them," Elle murmured.

"Yes."

"Can we access these underground structures?" Kirk asked.

"The transporters will get us there," Samir said. "We don't know if there's air, or what quality it will be."

"And they might be sealed for a reason," McCoy warned.

"Why don't we send a MALP," Elle said, stifling a yawn.

"A what."

"I'm watching Stargate," Elle said. "A little exploratory probe? We have those, right?"

Spock confirmed the Enterprise had them.

"All right. We've completed our rescue mission such as it is, and we'll finish the Exeter's mission here, to survey the planet and discover its history," Kirk said. "For now, everyone dismissed. Go to bed."

And everyone besides the science departments shuffled away to sleep.

**-/\\-**

Elle woke up early the next morning and made a beeline for the A&A Departments. "Whattawegot?" she asked, bouncing on her toes.

"There's definitely air," Samir said. "We're ready to send a team down."

As this was purely scientific in nature, the captain let Spock take the lead. Spock, two engineers, two archaeologists, and two security officers beamed down to the largest of the underground chambers. The Enterprise and Elle watched from the comfort of the bridge. All hail the button cam.

Spock and the away team materialized and immediately a blue light swept over them. "Vulcan-human hybrid, Andorian, humans," a robotic voice announced. "State your ID numbers."

"We do not have ID numbers," Spock said.

A red light flashed. "Unauthorized personnel." And the computer bank promptly powered down. The air system and the lights stayed on.

"Fascinating," Spock murmured.

Elle suppressed a grin.

The away team puttered here and there, examining whatever let itself be examined. "This seems to be a long-distance transporter," Spock declared after a few minutes of poking at a console. "Capable of transporting over a hundred life signs at a time."

"That must be how they did it," Kirk said.

"Agreed," Spock replied. "The civilization capable of such technology must be hundreds of years more advanced than the Federation."

Elle rubbed at her forehead. "I feel like I should know this one," she muttered, scrunching up her face to concentrate better. Advanced civilization, poking around 1960's Earth, long-range transporters. Wait. "Wait," she said aloud. "Assignment: Earth. It's an episode that hasn't happened yet, but, oooh, what's it called. There's a civilization. Uhhhhhhh..." She bit her lip furiously. "The Aegis! That's who did this!"

The computer bank next to Cmdr Samir's elbow, the one that had turned itself off, lit up one single row of buttons.

Spock pounced on it. "Computer, was this colony established by the Aegis?"

"Affirmative."

"For what purpose?" Spock pressed.

"State the purpose of this query," the computer retorted.

"Knowledge," Spock said. "We wish to understand the history of this planet."

The computer ruminated on this for a moment and blinked a green light. "The reason is acceptable. The history of this planet is as follows. The Aegis wished to study the effects of opposing political parties in a controlled zone, away from the oncoming Eugenics Wars. The Aegis relocated a subset of people involved in this war and established this colony."

"Except this time, the communists won," Samir said.

"Affirmative."

"What is the future of this colony?"

"To be human," the computer replied and shut down again.

Try as they might, nobody could get the computers to budge. Nor could they copy any information from the servers. All the information was stored on crystals that reminded Elle of Stargate DHD control crystals. Yes, okay, she might be obsessing about a new show instead of reading Walter Scott, but hey. That's life.

**-/\\-**

The away team came back after some final scans and Spock sent the final report to Star Fleet.

Star Fleet replied as promptly as they were able. "They're sending a team to bring back the Exeter and a survey team for the Aegis sites," Kirk told Elle that evening. "We've been ordered back to base to drop off Captain Tracey and his crew."

Elle nodded. Five people out of four hundred and thirty. "Space is really dangerous," she said.

Kirk smiled teasingly. "You're just now realizing this?"

"No, I, it just, it just hit me again." Elle stared out at the window at the planet, peaceful from this high up. "At any second, any of us could die, no matter how much we know. Or don't know."

He squeezed her hand. "That's why we have to do the best we can, when we can," he said. "It doesn't even the odds, but it gives us an edge." He gave her a fond grin. "It helps that everyone on this ship is completely crazy."

"Even Spock?"

"Especially Spock."

They both laughed at that and the melancholy in Elle's heart eased.


	38. M-5 The Murderbot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A smol transitional chapter

"Respectfully, admiral, sir, it's never gonna happen."

Wesley frowned at her. "You're the special case civilian child?"

Elle gave him a thin smile. "That's me, the basket case. With knowledge of your future. Which includes the fact that you're this isn't gonna work. M-5's gonna blow up the other ships in the war games. And Daystrom is totally nuts, by the way. So's his computer."

Wesley scowled. "Can you corroborate this slander?"

Elle squinted into the distance, trying to think of something they could check without actually plugging M-5 the Murderbot into the Enterprise. "...Daystrom copied his mind into the computer," she remembered. "Yeah."

"What? That's not possible."

Elle just gave him a small smile.

Kirk frowned. "If there's a chance the computer, or its designer, is unstable, then I won't have it on my ship, Bob."

The commodore just frowned. "Have your science officer analyze the computer before you install it, and let me know, then."

Kirk nodded acknowledgment and the commodore stalked out. He turned to Elle. "Could you be a little less belligerent next time, maybe?" he asked dryly.

"I could, if Commodore Wesley wasn't so happy about the whole concept of you being out of a job," Elle muttered, scuffing her toe in the carpet as her cheeks turned red.

Kirk laughed and hugged her to his side. "Thanks, kiddo. Now let's go see what Daystrom has to say about his special project."

He denied it vehemently until Spock threatened to psychically scan the computer. Daystrom broke. So did the computer. Elle hustled from the room, hands clamped over her ears. Who knew you could curse in binary? Okay, technically R2, but still...

**-/\\-**

"The Vulcans are taking the M-5, thank the Great Bird," Kirk said, scrubbing his face with both hands.

"So we're _going_ to _Vulcan_?" Elle asked, nearly vibrating out of her seat with glee.

"We're going to Vulcan," Kirk confirmed, eyes crinkling. "You think you'll be up for some sightseeing?"

"Absolutely yes, sir, captain sir."

He snorted.

The next day (T-Minus 3 days to Vulcan!), Spock did not start the science lesson with, "Today we will cover..." Instead he started with, "While the Enterprise is docked at Vulcan, I have three days of leave to visit my parents."

"Cool!" Her heart sank a bit. She could still play tourist with Uhura, though, or the captain.

"My mother has extended the invitation to you as well," Spock continued.

Elle almost dropped her PADD. "Really?"

He merely raised an eyebrow in that 'I-know-you-heard-me' look.

Elle bit her lip. "Do you want me to come?" she asked, desperately trying not to fidget.

"Elle."

"Is that a 'yes Elle, please come because my dad's gonna be there and it's gonna be super awkward', or a 'no, Elle, please stay away because my father's going to be there and it's gonna be super awkward'?"

He permitted himself a tiny not-smile. "The first one."

"Oh. Cool. Yeah. I love your parents."

"I will inform my mother of your acceptance," he said. "Today we will cover..."

Elle totally did not victory-dance all the way back to her quarters later. Any and all subsequent evidence off the security cameras was totally edited and not her at all.


	39. You Have a Butler

Thank all the quartermasters that ever were that Cmdr Chanax had replicated heat-wicking versions of three days worth of clothes for her. "It's only been ten minutes and I need a pool," Elle muttered, tugging her hat more firmly over her ears.

"My parents' home will be sufficiently cool for a human," Spock assured her. He spotted their rental car and walked towards it.

Elle stuck to his heels in the crowded spaceport. There were very few short Vulcans and a huge percentage of them looked basically like Spock. She was _not_ gonna get lost in the first half hour. She barely avoided crashing into someone and hastily caught up to Spock. She resisted the urge to take his hand, but she did grab the other end of his carryall.

They got in the standard rental hover car and Elle immediately set her side of the environment controls to cooler temperatures.

"Oh, nice," she breathed, face against the vent. "I love AC."

Spock retrieved a water bottle and handed it over. "Remember that you are not used to this gravity or heat and you must hydrate frequently. If you start to feel ill or faint in any way, inform myself or my parents immediately."

"Yes, sir." She drained the water bottle and settled in to watch the scenery. "Spock?"

"Yes, _ax'nav_?"

"Are you nervous?"

He didn't reply for two whole klicks. "Yes," he said.

"Your dad totally loves you, ya know."

Spock accepted that silently.

"And if he's mean I'll tell him off," Elle added.

He was definitely not-smirking. "You cannot reprimand a Federation ambassador."

"Hasn't stopped me before," she pointed out. "Besides, isn't that why you're bringing me?"

"I am bringing you because your favored language, culture, and philosophy is Vulcan and this will be a most instructive period," he said.

"Oh."

"I am also bringing you because my parents are very fond of you. As am I."

Elle bit her lip to keep from squeeing. "I return the sentiment," she said.

He nodded.

The house was more like an estate. A big estate. With a fortress. That looked like a house. It had a _wall_.

"I knew it," Elle said victoriously. "You're a prince!"

"Vulcans do not have royalty."

"You're the closest thing to it, though."

"I am not."

"You live in a castle."

"I live on the Enterprise."

"You come from a castle."

"It is not a castle."

"Is too."

He parked the car and gave her a Look.

"I've studied bloodlines," Elle reminded him.

He rolled - actually, legit _rolled_ \- his eyes.

To get to the house you had to park outside the wall and go to the gate with the intercomm. "Spock and Elle Wilcott," Spock announced.

The gate opened.

From there they walked up to the house through the gardens. Rock gardens, naturally, with native plants nestled in places. A fountain bubbled in the center.

Another Vulcan met them at the front door. "Commander Spock. Welcome home."

"Storel. This is Elle, my guest."

"Welcome to Vulcan, Elle." Storel took their bags and ushered them inside.

It was at least fifteen degrees cooler in the house. Elle sighed in relief. "You have a butler," she pointed out.

"Storel is a long time family retainer in charge of the household when my parents are not in residence."

"He's a butler."

"Steward would be the closest approximation."

Elle snorted. "You're not helping your case."

From the other end of the hallway, Lady Amanda appeared. "Oh, Spock."

"Mother." He let himself be hugged, eyes fond.

"And Elle, I'm so glad you came," Lady Amanda said, giving her a hug. "Oh, you look so well."

Elle squeezed the older woman tightly. "Thank you for inviting me, T'Sai Amanda."

"You are always welcome here," Amanda said. She led them to a sitting room and poured water into three crystal glasses. "Tell me how you've been."

They sipped their water and chatted. Elle couldn't help rambling a bit as she explained what she was learning in school.

Amanda smiled. "I'm glad you're so comfortable with all three languages."

Elle frowned. "Huh?"

"The way you switch back and forth between them, reminds me of Spock when he was little."

Elle blinked. "I do that? I don't do that." She glanced Spock. "Do I do that?"

He avoided meeting her gaze, focusing on the glass in his hand.

Elle scowled. "Is this like the pigtails thing where you all avoided telling me I looked adorable so I wouldn't stop doing it?"

"Affirmative."

"Seriously!?"

Amanda laughed. "Being the baby of the family is like that."

"No kidding."

Lady Amanda showed them to their rooms. Elle was just across from Spock's room, in the family quarters.

"Family quarters," Elle mocked. "This is totally a castle."

Spock just rolled his eyes again.

Her room was _nice_. A nice fluffy queen size bed, a reading nook, a private balcony, and a tiny cactus in a pot on the side table. There was an ensuite bathroom with a _water_ shower as well as sonics. "Noice."

She came back out to the main room. A moment later Sarek entered. "Greetings, Elle."

"Greetings, Ambassador."

Spock came in at that moment. His spine straightened so fast Elle practically heard the creak. "Father."

"Spock."

"I am pleased to see you are well," Sarek continued, awkwardly.

Spock didn't seem to know what to say. "I return the sentiment," he said, after a second.

Elle cleared her throat. "So... when's dinner?" she asked.

"We normally eat at 1800," Sarek replied.

"Cool." Elle plopped down on the sofa and watched as the two Vulcans followed suit. "So, tell me a funny baby Spock story?"

Spock's ears flushed emerald green.

Sarek looked pleased. "Has he told you of I-Chaya?"

"Father," Spock complained.

Sarek's look was nothing less than mischievous. "Your guest has asked a question," he said.

Amanda came in halfway through the retelling of "bb!Spock decided he _wasn't_ going to bed and escaped the house and was therefore carried back in giant fanged teddy-bear's mouth like a cranky pup", and she and Elle laughed at Sarek's dry retelling. "I'd forgotten about that," she said. "Elle, help me set the table?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, call me Amanda, dear."

"Yes, ma- Amanda," Elle stuttered.

Amanda laughed lightly and smoothed Elle's hair. "Come along."

They overheard, from the dining room, Spock ask Sarek something about work and then the two of them found their groove talking politics. "After all, politics is still a science," Amanda said, grinning.

"I want to be you when I grow up," Elle said honestly. "You are a queen."

Amanda just laughed and handed her some plates.

They ate, talked more about the Enterprise's adventures and general Federation politics, and Elle watched the sun set, the entire desert horizon shimmering like a special effect as the sky grew dark. She yawned.

"Perhaps you should retire," Spock suggested. "This gravity and atmosphere are draining when one is not accustomed."

Elle was about to protest, yawned again, and then grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I probably should. You're still gonna take me to the VSA tomorrow, right?"

"As agreed upon," Spock said.

"Noice." She gave him and Sarek smiles, gave Amanda a hug, and headed out. "Good night."

"If you require anything, remember my room is directly across from yours and you may wake me at any time," Spock called after her, a true mother-hen at heart.

"Yes, _a'nirih_ , thank you," Elle called, from the hallway.

She brushed her teeth, changed into pajamas, and slid into bed. The heavier gravity pinned her to the deep mattress and she fell asleep within seconds.


	40. Everybody's In Love with Spock

Elle woke up with an intense craving for bacon. "Vegetarian planet," she scolded herself. "Bad Elle." She got dressed and went out to the dining room.

Everyone else was already up. Amanda was conferring with Storel about something household-ish, confirming Elle's suspicion that Storel was their Alfred. She served herself some oatmeal and juice and dug in.

"After you tour the VSA this morning, T'Pau wishes to see you about putting Elle on the clan registry," Sarek informed Spock.

Spock's hand froze halfway to the teacup. "The clan registry?" he echoed.

"Are you not her primary guardian?"

"The Enterprise command crew has primary guardianship," Spock replied.

"I have six fathers, one mom, and over four hundred siblings," Elle said, mock-complaining. "I could be locked in a 'go-ask-your-father' loop for days."

Amanda snorted into her teacup. "The point still stands, T'Pau wishes to meet her newest great-grandchild."

Spock looked like he was trying very hard not to choke.

"She referred to you as her adoptive father," Sarek added, looking smug.

Elle stuffed oatmeal in her mouth instead of trying to say something. This didn't seem like it was actually about her.

"We will go see her after the midday meal," Spock finally said. He nodded to Elle.

Elle half-raised her hand. "So, what does that mean?" she asked.

"That that's your permanent room, now," Amanda said. "And that incidentally we've adopted Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy as well." She smiled.

"I thought we had already adopted them," Sarek said.

"True."

Spock very wisely put more food in his mouth instead of saying something.

**-/\\-**

The VSA was so cool. It was a scientists' paradise. It was... "Spock, do you realize that almost every person you pass looks like they have a crush on you?" Elle asked, resisting the urge to tug on his sleeve.

Spock's eyebrows went all the way up. "That would be illogical."

"That Vulcan back there literally had heart-eyes."

"Your heart cannot be in your eyes."

"Uh-huh. Tell that to Jim Kirk."

Spock rolled his eyes. "The captain's ability to project human emotions onto his own face is not an ability shared by full-blooded Vulcans."

"And yet, that girl asked you for comm number."

Spock sighed. "Do you want to see the historical observatory or do you want to debate the odds of my popularity?" he asked.

Elle folded her hands primly. "The historical observatory, please."

"Very well."

**-/\\-**

"Spock."

"Yes?"

"Your grandma lives in a castle."

"A fortress," Spock corrected.

"You're not helping your case for not being a prince."

"Be that as it may." He gave her a look as they walked up to the front doors of the 'house'. "T'Pau is the matriarch of the clan and you will give her all due respect."

"Yes sir. She gets _all_ the respect. She's scary."

Spock almost smirked. "Yes, she is."

They were admitted, all the retainers or servants or whatever they were pointedly not-staring at Elle. She shifted closer to Spock. This whole house/fortress felt, heavy. Heavy with history and the weight of, something.

She stood up straight and tried not to fidget.

"T'Pau will see you now," the young Vulcan woman said, ushering Spock and Elle forward.

T'Pau was a tiny, wrinkled woman that looked kind of like Elle's _abuela_ in Mexico, but with pointed ears and an inimitable aura of power and gravitas. Elle resisted the urge to hide behind Spock. T'Pau looked them up and down and came from behind her equally-imposing desk. "Spock," she said in Vulcan, so technically 'Spohk', with a long 'o'.

"Grandmother," Spock said, bowing his head respectfully.

T'pau turned her attention to Elle. "Eleanor," she said.

Elle bowed her head. "T'Sai T'Pau."

"You are very young," T'Pau said, her tone almost, fond? She reached out and cupped Elle's cheek with her cool, dry palm.

Elle felt the brush of a powerful, wise mind against her mental shields and held very still, letting the matriarch find what she was looking for.

T'Pau stepped back, seemingly satisfied. "You will be a great influence on the galaxy," she declared, the same way grandmothers would always proclaim, "Oh, she's gonna be a heartbreaker."

Elle didn't know what to say so she just stayed quiet and bit her lip.

T'Pau glanced between Spock and Elle and nodded. "Your captain knows we will be giving her Vulcan citizenship?" she asked.

Spock nodded. "I discussed it with Captain Kirk this morning. He is amenable, and the senior officers, we, are grateful that our clan will support Elle in this time and place."

"You will always have a place on Vulcan with the Clan of Surak," T'Pau said to Elle, meeting her gaze, and it sounded like a vow.

Elle bowed her head again. "I am honored," she murmured in Vulcan, the words in Standard not formal enough.

T'Pau rested a hand on Elle's head for a moment and then went back behind her desk. "I am sure your father would not be averse to showing Eleanor the embassy," she said, a clear dismissal.

Spock nodded and ushered Elle towards the door. "Live long and prosper, grandmother."

"Peace and long life, Spock, Eleanor."

They exited the office and were escorted to the front lobby. Elle didn't say anything until they were in the car, headed back to the city.

"That was kind of weird, right?" Elle asked. "That felt kinda weird. Like she was telling my future."

"I have never known T'Pau to be xenophobic in the least," Spock replied. "And clan matriarchs are very good at knowing where their children are."

"I'm confused."

"Do not be." He rested a hand on her knee for a moment, solid and comforting. "You will have a home on Vulcan as long as you or your children live."

"I'm so not having kids."

"We shall see, _ax'nav_."

"If you want grandkids you're gonna have to make your own child."

Spock snorted. "Highly unlikely."

**-/\\-**

Apparently, seeing Sarek with a human child at his elbow was not a strange enough sight-no one in the Vulcan embassy gave them a second glance. Either that or the Vulcans chosen to represent their planet just had poker faces better than anyone else in the galaxy. Elle frowned. "Are you _sure_ you haven't adopted a child named Michael at some point in your life?" she asked.

Sarek frowned. "Michael? Michael Burnham?"

Elle's heart sank. "Yeah..."

"I had custody of her for three days before her parents were found," Sarek said, raising an eyebrow. "How would you know of this?"

"Uh... never mind."

He gave her a Look but dropped it.

What followed was a primer on 'how to use your newly-acquired diplomatic immunity no matter what planet you're on and not get thrown in jail for misuse of diplomatic privileges'. He also gave her the private comm numbers of five Highly Important People in case of Emergencies.

Elle blinked down at the piece of real-life paper in her hand. "You want me to memorize the Federation President's _house number_?"

"One should always be prepared," Sarek said serenely.

"He doesn't even know who I am!"

Sarek gave her an eyebrow. "You are from an alternate universe with extensive classified knowledge extending through the Federation and its enemies, Elle. He knows who you are."

Elle gulped. "Well that's terrifying."

"That may be, but you know that he knows."

Elle blinked a few times, considering this. "Leverage?" she asked.

"Of a sort."

"Cool." She focused on memorizing the comm code and once she could recite it perfectly, Sarek burned the paper in the little incense firepot. Elle rested her chin in her hand and watched the paper curl up and grey to ash, the lefover incense wafting to her nose. "Sarek?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you all so invested in this? In me?"

Sarek sat across from her, dignified and resplendent in his robes. "You have saved four hundred and fifty-nine Vulcans in the eight months you have been here, Elle. You assisted my family in healing a breach long overdue. You are my son's legal ward. How could Amanda and I not be invested?"

She blushed to her ears and ducked her head down. "Cool. Um, I'm pretty invested in you guys, too."

He catered to her human emotional needs and patted her arm. "Come along," he said, the moment broken. "I'm sure Spock has found the captain and Doctor McCoy by now."

Spock had indeed found Captain Kirk and Bones, and the four of them said goodbye to Sarek, grabbed lunch in the Human Quarter of Shi'Kahr, "that is NOT a burger, Jim", and went to a park on the outskirts of the city. Being Vulcan, the park was mainly composed of rocks and dune grass, but it was still beautiful.

Elle trailed home after Spock, her face red from mild sunburn. Amanda fussed over her and pulled out frozen chocolate-covered banana squares. Elle could get used to being the spoiled one pretty quickly, all right.

The last day of their leave was spent at the house with Amanda, Sarek, Spock, Kirk, and McCoy, just talking and eating various snacks that Storel kept bringing. It was hilarious to see Amanda boss all three of her "Star Fleet sons" around. "Seriously, though, it is good to know that there's a backup plan in case of, things," Kirk said, glancing at Elle and back to Sarek.

"T'Pau was quite taken with her," Sarek said. "She has always had a fondness for fearless young ones."

"That's why Spock's her favorite," Amanda chimed in.

"Elle is indeed quite fearless when expressing herself to various figures of authority," Spock said, slanting his eyes at her.

Elle blushed. "Hey! I've never back-talked you guys, that's not fair!"

"You literally just yelled at a commodore five days ago," Kirk pointed out. "You yelled at the ambassador when you _met_ him."

Elle's blush turned violently red and she could swear her head was going to catch on fire. "That don't count! They were being dumb! I mean, you know what I mean." She waved a hand awkwardly. "Sorry."

"As I said," Sarek said smugly, without an ounce of embarrassment, "fearless."

Elle pouted into her iced tea. "Just wait till you guys try and make me do something dumb, you'll see fearless," she threatened half-heartedly.

Kirk laughed and reached over to kiss her forehead. "Whatever, kiddo."

She took another bite of her mini-quiche. "Hmph."

Leaving Vulcan later that day was hard. "Comm me whenever you want to practice your Vulcan," Amanda told her, giving her a good motherly hug. "And whenever you can come back to Vulcan for vacation, let me know and you'll have a place here."

"Thank you." Elle hugged her back tightly and then stepped back to bow at Sarek. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"You are welcome at any time," he said, giving her a barely-there smile. "Live long and prosper."

"Peace and long life." She left the house and waited with Kirk and Bones to wait for Spock to make his own goodbyes. She tilted her face up to the sky, absorbing the last of the real sunlight.

"You're gonna start peeling," Bones warned.

"Don't care."

Two hours later, she definitely cared. A little bit. On the plus side, she terrified the Rigelian ensign when her nose started to peel in the rec deck. "Humans _molt_? That's _disgusting!_ "

Elle laughed so hard her nose hurt. It was totally worth it.


	41. Interstellar Archaeological Conspiracies

"What are the odds that there are _two_ copy-pasted Earth civilizations in this sector of space?" Kirk asked as they listened to the primitive planet's broadcast about sun worshippers and gladiators and slaves mixed in with petrol-based car engines and burgeoning nuclear reactors.

Spock looked dissatisfied. "Too astronomical to be a coincidence, sir."

Elle suddenly remembered. "Space Jesus!" she blurted, and started giggling.

"What?" Uhura asked her.

"Son, not sun."

"Elle."

"I'm serious! It's Space Jesus! These guys, the slaves, the wanted ones, they're Christians. The real kind, not the political, weird ones."

" _This_ is an episode?" Kirk asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh yeah. McCoy fights a gladiator. It's, really funny actually."

"That does not sound funny at all," McCoy informed her, scowling.

"But the people you're looking for are down there," Elle said. "Captain what's-his-face is some big-shot political guy or something."

Kirk sighed. "Of course he is. That doesn't make sense, though. He dropped out in the fifth year of the Academy, he wouldn't be..."

Spock frowned. "Were you told why Merik was dropped from the Academy?"

"He failed a psycho-simulator test. All it takes is a split second of indecision. Hardly the type to become a political strongman."

Elle scowled. "I remember why I didn't like this episode. He sold his crew out to the Romans. The leader, the, what is it? Pro-consul? Knows about the Federation."

"He violated the Prime Directive?"

"He obliterated the Prime Directive," Elle said. "Like, stomped it to death and stabbed it with a little sword."

Kirk pinched his nose and sighed. "I don't think I like this mission, either. Whatever remaining members of the Beagle crew, we have to find them."

Elle offered the remaining details she could remember and went below to let them figure out a plan that wasn't "send the three senior officers to fight gladiators."

**-/\\-**

"Okay, but how did they end up here?" Elle asked Commander Samir.

"We have no idea. We're still scanning the planet and the captain is debating if it's worth it putting someone in undercover to go look in the actual paper archives."

"Undercover?" Elle asked.

"It's not as exciting as you think. It's a lot of 'nobody talk to me because I'm going to miss a cultural cue and you're going to kill me'."

Elle frowned. "Oh. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Most likely help Communications with filtering the radio transmissions. You can learn a lot from people's communication networks."

"No kidding. That's why the Vulcans ignored humans till Cochrane."

Samir snickered. "Pretty much, yeah."

After that class, Elle made her way to the Comm Dept. "I want to help."

Lt. Uhura parked her in a chair with an earpiece and a tablet. "If you hear anything interesting make a note in the corresponding frequency."

Elle scanned through the radio frequencies and settled briefly on one that seemed historical in nature. Educational, maybe?

"...Jupiter said to the man, "A new land for worthy..."" Not historical. Religious. But that's gotta be a good source of creation myths, right?

Elle tried to concentrate but she had a psychological block at listening to the televangelist type of monologues and she kind of zoned out for a minute.

"...And he gave them his Sacred Aegis, and his Chosen One carried the Aegis on their banner, and they led the worthy to a new land, where Rome reigned supreme..."

" _Aegis_?" Elle realized, eyes widening. She turned up the volume and took notes frantically. "Lt. Uhura? I think I might have something?"

"Let me see, sugar." Uhura tuned into the frequency and Elle showed her her notes. "This can't be a coincidence," she said. "Two human-replicate societies transferred by something called the Aegis?"

Elle punched the air victoriously. "This is so cool, we're so on to something. Interstellar archaeological conspiracies! Who needs Stargate!"

Lt. Uhura gave her a look.

"Sorry." Elle folded her arms. "Ahem. Is this something we can take as results or do we have to have like, MLA sources and a bibliography or something?"

Uhura smiled. "Two independent sources," she said. "We might have to put a person in undercover anyways because they don't have any of their information digitized."

"They don't need the internet," Elle said. "Giving the internet to Romans is a bad idea. Why don't we just beam up a bunch of books after the library closes?"

Uhura snickered. "We'll run it by Commander Spock."

"Cool."

Turns out beaming up an entire section of an alien library isn't on the anthropological handbook. "There is merit in the idea, however," Spock said, steepling his fingers carefully. "They do have a language similar to Earth English, we would be able to scan the information efficiently and then replace it before the library opened again. We would, of course, have to maintain constant surveillance of the library to prevent an alrm being raised at the temporary removal of their historical section."

"Sounds great," Kirk said cheerfully. "Good idea, Elle."

Also turns out, if you get an idea, you are expected to see it through. "Aren't there child labor laws?" Elle mock-complained, skimming the table of contents for the fiftieth book.

"Yes," Kirk replied, flicking through the pages of a dry historical tome, nose wrinkled.

Elle paused in her reading. "Really?"

"Yes, really, of course there are," Kirk said, giving her a raised eyebrow. "You can work up to ten hours a week, dependent on mental and emotional health, as long as its balanced with your schoolwork. You didn't know that?"

"...Does polishing spare parts in engineering count as work because then I should be paid overtime," Elle said.

Kirk rolled his eyes. "That does count. I'll talk to Scotty."

"No, don't, I like the work, it's soothing," Elle said. "And shiny." She wrinkled her nose at a, ahem, fancy description of Jupiter and hastily flipped the page. "Wait. Am I getting paid?"

"We don't use money, Elle," Cmdr. Samir reminded her patiently.

"Oh yeah. Can I put this on my resume? Do people still use resumes?"

Kirk looked up, mock-offended. "I thought you were joining Star Fleet?"

"I mean, maybe?" Elle said. "I know enough to just keep civilian consult-ifying until Spock's like, two hundred, so..."

Spock's eyebrows hit the ceiling at her misuse of grammar.

Kirk snickered into the historical tome.

Eventually they found it. Cmdr Samir hit the jackpot with an account of wise and powerful men carrying the aegis of Jupiter. "They brought us to a new land of prosperity where Rome could rule to eternity and then disappeared back to the land of the gods," Cmdr Samir read.

"That does fit with the long-range transporters we found on Omega Four," Spock said.

"But we haven't found any sign of them on this planet," Kirk said.

"Maybe they stopped working," another anthropologist said, looking up from the shelves. "The Romans were fifteen hundred years before the Communist era, the technology might have died and we can't find it on scans."

"Possible," Spock allowed.

Elle yawned. "Can I go now? I'm sleepy."

Kirk took the book from her and kissed her forehead. "Go to bed, kiddo. Good work today."

"Thank you, sir."

**-/\\-**

The ship was at warp when Elle woke up. She looked up the destination on the computer as she was brushing her teeth. "Computer, where are we going?"

"Starbase Four," the computer replied.

"Why?" Elle asked through her toothpaste.

"This terminal does not have authorization for that response," the computer said.

"Oh. Thank you." Elle turned off the computer.

She asked Chekov later.

"We are dropping off the remaining members of the Beagle and reporting the results of our investigation to Star Fleet in person," Chekov replied. "We might be asked to investigate in more detail, which will either be wery exciting or wery boring."

"Probably both," Elle said.

"Yes, probably both," he agreed. "That is the way of starship life."


	42. Cheerfully Ugly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, friends, from chapter forty-two, the answer to life, the universe, and everything, which according to this chapter is apparently ugly fridge magnets. Or time travel. One of those.

"Where are you going, cap? Can I come with you to the base? I want a fridge magnet from the souvenir shop."

Kirk blinked. "You don't even have a refrigeration unit in your quarters."

"I do too," Elle protested. "It's for Simba's snacks."

He looked at her. "You have a fridge for That Tribble which only eats every fortnight?"

Elle grinned sheepishly. "It may contain my own midnight snacks," she admitted.

He raised an eyebrow. "Requisitions let you have a personal unit?"

"I built it for an engineering project and Scotty let me keep it," Elle explained. "I made its own battery and everything so I don't draw power off the main. But if I have a fridge I need magnets."

"Do you, though?" he asked.

Elle bounced on her toes. "It's my twenty-first century culture of materialism," she said frankly. "I can't help it."

He finally laughed. "Well at least you're honest. I'm not going to the base for that, though. Apparently the Enterprise's next mission briefing can only be given in person. Admirals Wiggins and Nogura-" he made a slight face "-have requested mine and Mr. Spock's presence."

Elle bit her lip. "Admiral Nogura... he doesn't like you, does he?"

Kirk shrugged and started walking down the corridor.

"Do you kinda know what they're gonna tell you?" Elle asked, following him.

"I have a feeling they're going to have us research the Aegis, whoever or whatever they are, as we're the ones who've encountered two Earth offshoots in the last month."

Elle nodded. "Yup. Are all starships this prone to weird stuff happening?"

"Says the girl who helped rescue Vulcans from a space amoeba," Kirk deadpanned.

"I guess that answers my question," Elle said, grinning.

They entered the transporter room and found Spock there, talking to Chief Kyle. "Captain," Spock said, nodding. "Elle."

"Mr. Spock." The captain turned to Elle. "I'll bring you a magnet. Do you want a tasteful one or a cheesy one?"

"Cheesy," Elle replied promptly. "Can't I come with you?"

"It's a restricted briefing," Kirk said instead.

"As mission consultant, Elle does possess the necessary clearing for restricted briefings of this nature," Spock said mildly, still studying something on the transporter console.

Kirk sighed. "Nogura would flip his lid. I don't wanna get on his bad side."

"He already doesn't like you," Elle said, giving him her best puppy eyes. "Please? You know you want me there to give you the deets. Please?"

Kirk sighed. "Fine."

"Awesome! Thank you, captain." Elle got onto the transporter dais after Spock, grinning.

Kirk rolled his eyes and got into position. "Energize, Mr. Kyle."

They materialized on the starbase and headed for the Fleet admin offices on the upper levels. "Elle, I'm serious though, Admiral Nogura has a lot of pull in the 'fleet, so I want you on your best behavior."

"Yes, sir."

"No picking fights."

She hesitated. "What if he's being really mean?"

Kirk smothered a laugh. "No picking fights," he repeated.

"Yes, sir," she said reluctantly.

**-/\\-**

"Captain Kirk."

"Sir?"

"Is there a reason you have a child in this briefing room?" Nogura gave Elle a glare.

Kirk's smile turned slightly sharp. "This is our civilian mission consultant. She is authorized to be here."

"On whose authority?"

"Really, 'chiro? That's where you're gonna make your stand?" Wiggins asked, rolling her eyes.

"The things we're going to discuss are top secret," Nogura insisted.

Elle squinted at him. "So's my file. That's why you can't see it. If you don't like Captain Kirk why are _you_ even here, sir, with all due respect?"

Kirk very carefully did not choke on a laugh and instead turned a disapproving gaze on her. "Elle, please."

Spock's eyebrows went up and he raised his eyes slightly heavenward.

Admiral Na'isha Wiggins smirked. "You certainly pick your mission consultants well, Captain."

Elle resisted the urge to sink under the table and concentrated on giving Nogura the stink eye.

Nogura _almost_ frothed at the mouth. "I am here to impress on _Captain_ Kirk the gravity of the mission the Enterprise will undertake," he said, his tone at zero degrees Kelvin. "Any missteps and the consequences could be dire for the entire galaxy. Why are _you_ here?"

Elle resisted the urge to make a spontaneous duck face. "I'm here because if this is what I think it is, I know more about the 1960's than any of you."

Nogura's eyes widened and then he glared. "HOW-" he started, about to start firing people.

Wiggins held up a calming hand. "As entertaining as it would be watching you argue with a twelve-year-old," she said, hiding her smirk behind her other hand, "I think we'd better press on to the briefing at hand, Admiral."

Nogura gave Elle a final glare of deep suspicion and turned to the computer screen. "Captain Kirk, you are henceforth ordered to use the slingshot maneuver you invented last year to return to 1960's Earth during the Communist era. Your objective is to find and observe the Aegis in action, and if they are indeed an alien civilization with technology on par or ahead of the Federation, to initiate contact and hopefully set up a time and place to meet in this time."

Kirk blinked. "You _want_ us to time travel?"

"I know," Nogura said dryly.

"Why us?" Kirk asked.

"No one else wanted to do it," Wiggins said, heaving a sigh.

"Ah."

Nogura sniffed. "I do not have to emphasize the importance of this, I hope. You must be _extremely_ careful not to interfere with the timeline. No government of that time must be aware of the Enterprise or its people."

"Admirals, we don't even know when specifically the Aegis removed the Yangs and the Kohms to Omega Four," Kirk said. "The slingshot maneuver cannot be done with that level of accuracy in any case. This is a very..." He trailed off, waving his hands vageuly without trying to say something disrespectful.

"It's a shot in the dark," Wiggins said frankly. "But that's all we have. We _know_ the Aegis had to have been there for some time to observe that period of time in Earth's history, and that's our closest bet."

Kirk glanced at Elle.

"Oh we'll find them all right," Elle said, twisting her fingers through the end of her braid. She needed a haircut. "The Aegis was mostly responsible for the successful end of the Eugenics Wars after that time."

"How do you know that?" Nogura demanded.

"In what way?" Spock asked at the same time.

"Who do you think caused the super-humans to start self-destructing in the first place and got Khan off the planet before he managed to take over?" Elle replied before she could stop herself.

Silence.

"They're very fond of humans," Elle said, totally aware she was digging deeper into the hole, but she couldn't stop talking. "They have their own humans, too. Aware of the bigger picture. It won't matter anyway, because they're still so far advanced it's like the Vulcans all over again. They're not interested in the Federation. We're still babies with disposable cameras on a trip to the zoo." She finally managed to shut up and bit her lip.

Wiggins' looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh. "How do you know that?" she asked.

Elle opened her mouth, closed it again. "Uhhh. That's classified. Ma'am."

Nogura squinted at her. "Are you some sort of DTI operative?" he asked. He looked like he was getting a migraine.

"No sir," Elle said. "I didn't even know they went this far back though. That's good to know. I mean it makes sense, since we did discover time travel and all. Did they sign off on this, anyway?" She caught Kirk's warning look and stuffed her sweater sleeve into her mouth. "Never mind, none of my business," she muttered through the fleece.

Nogura ignored her through the rest of the briefing, directing himself to Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock with the details of the briefing. There were so many alternate plans in case the Enterprise got stuck in some weird time loop or went to the wrong time/place that the possibilities made Elle's head spin. But, Nogura was nothing if not thorough, and the plans were actually good.

The two admirals dismissed them with one more warning about time travel and orders to proceed directly for the Sol system to begin the slingshot maneuver.

Elle went over to Nogura to shake his hand. "Thank you, admiral, for such clear instructions," she said sincerely. "It's really reassuring to see how Star Fleet cares about its people more than its missions."

He blinked down at her, surprised, and shook her hand. "We would be nothing without the people who take the risks," he said.

"I know," she said. "It's nice to see an admiral who remembers that. Thank you." She went to stand next to Spock.

Wiggins waved at her as the three Enterprise'rs walked away. Elle waved back.

Kirk looked down at Elle. "What did I say about picking fights, mister?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not to," Elle said.

"And?"

"I didn't!" she protested. "He started it!"

Kirk took a deep breath and released it slowly through his nose. He was either about to pull his Captain Voice or start sniggering. "Point," he admitted.

"I apologized," she said.

"By chastising him for flying a desk?" Kirk asked wryly.

"That's not what I was doing," Elle protested half-heartedly.

"That's sure what it sounded like," he retorted.

She scowled. "I just didn't want him to try and promote you any earlier than you ought to be promoted. If he remembers it starting _now_ , then we should be good."

"Promo- never mind. I'm not touching that one." Kirk sighed.

"Sorry," Elle said quietly. "I didn't mean to, really, it just kinda came out."

He ruffled her hair, messing up her braid. "I know, kiddo. And thank you, anyway. That was the most entertaining briefing I've had in months."

"I did not know that human phisionomy could indeed turn the skin purple," Spock added, his tone completely dry.

Kirk sniggered. "Oh, his face. That was so good." He gestured. "Look, you can go buy your fridge magnet."

"Ooh." Elle hustled over to the souvenir shop. She carefully selected the tackiest, most garish fridge magnet proclaiming 'Starbase 4' in an ugly block font.

"That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen," Kirk said, eyeing her purchase with mixed horror and glee.

"Isn't it the best?" Elle agreed, sticking it in her sweater pocket.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I do not see the purpose of this souvenir," he said.

" _Aesthetique_ ," Elle replied.

Spock blinked. "It does not fulfill any requirements for aesthetic purposes."

"That's the point," Elle said. "It's ugly. It's cheerfully ugly."

Spock's other eyebrow went up in that 'your-illogical-ness-is-killing-my-brain.' "Fascinating," he deadpanned.

Kirk laughed. "It's a very human thing to do, Spock. You'll get it someday."

"I do not believe I have enough human DNA to reach that level of understanding," Spock said, rather snootily.

"Don't let McCoy hear you say that," Kirk warned, hiding his smile. "He'll take that as a challenge."

Spock looked appropriately horrified.

Elle just giggled.


	43. Assignment: Earth!

"Course ready, sir."

"Engeineering reports ready, captain."

"Medical standing by, sir. Operations reports the ship is secure. Damange control departments on standby."

The remaining departments chimed in. Elle, sitting at the unused science station, gave the captain a thumbs-up when he turned to look at her.

Kirk grinned and faced forward. "All right, people, let's do this. All hands, brace for a slingshot maneuver."

The nice thing about real life versus shows from the sixties, seat belts were actually a thing. Safety harnesses unfolded from the back of the chairs, and Elle strapped herself in.

She stared at the sun as it loomed large on the screen. This close to the sun she saw it boiling, seething with heat and power, buffeting the Enterprise with solar winds as the puny ship marched up to the dragons fiery maw and angled around it.

"Warp 5. Warp 6. Warp 7." Sulu sounded stressed. He was sweating, even in the cool ship's temperature, but his hands were rock-steady on the controls.

Elle didn't know if she really felt it, or if it was her imagination, but as they zipped around the sun, the moment seemed to streeeeeeeetch and _snapped-_

She blinked. "Huh."

"Did it work?" Kirk asked, shaking his head.

Sulu, Chekov, and Spock hunched over their consoles. "Stars are in alignment with info recorded from the 1960's, captain," Chekov said.

"Let's see Earth," Kirk said.

The screen switched aft from the diminishing sun to forward view: a beautiful blue-green marble with an accompanying pebble of a moon. No Spacedock. No orbiting ships. No lunar edifices.

"Excellent work, gentlemen," Krk said, patting helmsman and navigator on the back. "Lt. Uhura?"

"Radio broadcasts emanating from the planet suggest March, 1968," Uhura said, one hand to her ear.

"Perfect," Kirk said. "Sulu, take us into high orbit, we don't want to let anyboy know we're up here."

"Don't want the Cold War getting hot," Elle agreed, unbuckling the harness. She went to stand next to the captain's chair. "Now what?"

"Now we obsrve the planet, try and find evidence of this Aegis, and wait for this mysterious operative to arrive," Kirk said. "With a transporter beam that strong we'll be able to track it, even if we don't intercept it."

"Cool."

Sulu turned to look at her. "You know, we could just drop you off," he teased. "Isn't this much closer to what you're used to?"

Elle grimaced. "This was fifty years ago, from my point of view. That's an entire lifetime, I, my parents wouldn't even be alive yet! Oh, that's so weird." She contemplated it with a shudder. "Ugh. No thanks. The fashion and the moon landing next year is cool, but I much prefer a world without racism, inequality, poverty, the impending threat of annihilation... no. I'm good here, thanks." She grinned. "Though if we do end up having to go down there I want to come."

"No," Kirk told her.

"Aw, c'mon," Elle said. "You'd look much less conspicious with a kid. A kid who knows twentieth century Earth better than any of you, I might add." She gave Kirk a hopeful smile. "Please?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's highly unlikely we'll leave the ship at all, but if we do, I will consider it."

"Thank you captain."

"In the meantime, make yourself useful to the Communications and Anthropology departments," he added.

Elle sighed. More research. "Yes, sir."

**-/\\-**

"Buy now, for only 8.99!"

If Elle heard one more commercial she was going to scream. "Less than a year without commercials and you're spoiled," she muttered to herself.

"Not true," her brain whispered back. "Netflix spoiled you long before."

"True."

Lt. Uhura raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking to yourself?" she asked.

Elle blushed. "Maybe?" She changed the frequency and paused at a familiar sound. "...is this Doctor Who?"

_"No time to explain, Jamie, we have to-"_

"It is!" Elle cheered. "I found BBC!" She fumbled for the screen and turned it to the signal. A grainy, black and white, budget alien 'planet' appeared. "Ha! Oh, this is great! Aw, look, it's the Second Doctor! Wow, I've never seen these super-old ones."

The signal fritzed out and Elle whacked the side of the monitor.

Uhura glanced at her. "You realize that does literally nothing?"

"It makes me feel better." Elle fiddled with the controls. "Aw, I think I lost it."

"You realize we have all those old shows on the database," Uhura pointed out.

"It's not the same," Elle protested, still fiddling with the knobs.

"You're so weird."

**-/\\-**

"...more protests as military officials withdraw from peace talks..."

"...new pesticide-spray the bugs away!"

"...musicians scheduled for next year, a landmark festival at Wood-"

"Rock'n'roll, baby!"

**-/\\-**

"Elle to Transporter Room 2, on the double!"

The alert jolted Elle from her reading homework. She fell off the couch, scrambled for her shoes. "On my way!" she hollered at a wall comm as she passed.

She skidded into the room two seconds before Kirk, Spock, and a security contingent, just as a figure materialized on the dais. "Gary Seven! Isis!" she blurted, before anyone could move.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his sharp gaze traveling over the console and pausing on Spock. "A Vulcan?"

"We're from the twenty-third century," Elle said, raising her palms in the age-old gesture of 'no harm'. "We got in the way of your transport beam, sorry."

"How do you know who we are?" Gary Seven asked suspiciously. "What are you doing in this time?"

Kirk stepped forward. "Looking for you, actually. Well, your sponsors. The Aegis."

Elle looked at Isis pointedly. She could have sworn the cat winked at her before looking away.

Gary Seven frowned. "You shouldn't even be aware of us, how-"

"Omega IV and the Planet of Rome," Kirk said simply.

"Ah. Well. Yes." Seven and Isis exchanged a glance. "As impressive as your discovery is, you really shouldn't be here. And I have a mission to complete, so if you wouldn't mind sending me on my way?"

"Can we come with?" Elle asked. "There's some things you should know."

"Like what?"

Elle grimaced. "I'm pretty sure the two agents you have down there died in a car crash and haven't sabotaged the rocket yet."

Seven stepped forward, a thunderous look on his face. "How-"

Kirk and the security officers stepped in front of Elle. Seven backed off.

"I just know," Elle added, from behind Giotto's bicep. "Sorry."

"If you knew why didn't you prevent it?" he demanded.

She gave him a flat look. "Because finding one specific car crash on this planet is like looking for a needle in a haystack. A haystack that's on fire."

"Then how..."

Isis meowed.

Seven frowned. "Well I suppose it's possible." He sighed. "Regardless, I really do have to get down there. If you know us and you know my mission then you know it's vital to the safety of this planet and this people."

Isis meowed again and jumped off the dais into Elle's arms.

"Uh..." Elle clutched awkwardly at the shapeshifting-cat-being.

Seven sighed again. "You're kidding. She's a child."

Isis placed a delicate paw on Elle's forehead. "Mrrr."

"Fine. Come along, miss."

Kirk put a hand on Elle's shoulder. "Hold it."

Seven rolled his eyes. "You and your XO can come as well if it means we can move on with life. I'm an operative, not a babysitter."

Elle grinned at Kirk. "Please?"

He looked at Seven. "Give us five minutes to put on the appropriate disguises."

"Agreed." Seven glanced at his watch. "Five minutes."

Elle grinned. "Good thing I dressed for the occasion." She smoothed her striped tunic dress over her pink leggings.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Seven asked, as Kirk and Spock hustled away to go change.

"Kind of," Elle replied. "I didn't know which day you'd be arriving, so I just planned my outfits accordingly for these last few days."

Isis patted Elle's shoulder with a paw and meowed.

"Thanks." Elle smoothed the silky black fur. "So, what's with the shapeshifting?"

Kirk and Spock came back, appropriately costumed.

"You look good in a trenchcoat," Elle said, as they took their places on the dais.

Seven rattled off a string of coordinates to Chief Kyle.

"Energize."

They materialized in a foggy chamber and stepped into a large office. "Nice," Elle said, letting Isis leap to the ground.

"Hello?" A woman's voice called from the other room.

Everyone froze.

Elle facepalmed. "Roberta Lincoln."

"Who?" Seven hissed.

"They hired a local girl to be their secretary and keep up their cover of historians or whatever it was," Elle explained. "She doesn't know anything about your mission."

Seven frowned. "Maybe she knows where they went."

Elle followed him out of the office. "Don't freak her out."

He pushed her back into the office. "Stay here."

Elle pouted.

It went about as well as could be expected. Roberta tried to bonk Seven over the head with a bookend. Seven retaliated with interrogation about his two agents. The captain tried to be diplomatic, Roberta wasn't having it, Spock tried to overwhelm her with logic. His hat came off. There was some mild shrieking, invoking of deities, and finally Seven gave up and explained everything.

Roberta took the whole aliens, time travel, human-otherworld, nuclear rocket thing with remarkable calm and ran with it. "So what do we do?" she asked.

" _We_ complete the mission," Seven said. " _You_ go home."

"Oh no, you don't," Roberta retorted. "I was hired to assist, so that's what you're getting."

Seven raised his eyes heavenward.

Isis made a sound remarkably similar to a snigger.

Elle poked her head out of the inner office. "Can I come into the out, now?" she asked.

Roberta pointed. "Who's that?"

"I'm Elle. I'm, uh, the mission consultant," Elle said, shaking Roberta's hand.

"You're like, twelve."

"Thirteen," Elle protested.

Seven moved to the inner office. "Computer on. Specify locations of agents two oh one and three four seven."

Elle put a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh as he wrestled with the Beta-5 computer's, ahem, idiosyncracies. Kirk just gave Seven a look of commiseration.

The Beta-5 coughed up the information. "Occurrence, automobile accident. Location Highway nine four nine, ten miles north of McKinley Rocket Base. Agents three four seven and two oh one were killed instantly."

Seven closed his eyes briefly. "Of all the senseless deaths," he said, grieved. He turned away to fiddle with the main computer bank. "I'm setting the coordinates for McKinley Base itself. I need you to stay here and supervise. If something goes wrong, I'll need a quick exit. I'll need one regardless once I finish the alterations. Mister Spock, let me show you how to set the recall."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Roberta asked.

"Giving the USA an orbital platform in this year is like giving a toddler a flamethrower," Elle said frankly.

"That is a disturbing analogy," Kirk said, shuddering. "But, you're not wrong."

Robera frowned. "Well, I guess."

Seven cleared his throat. "Ready, Isis?"

The cat leapt onto his shoulder.

"See you in a bit," Seven said, and he was gone.

Elle perched on the edge of the desk as Kirk started to pace. Spock studied the computer console. Roberta glanced from one to the other and settled next to Elle on the desk. "So what's the twenty-third century like?"

Elle grinned. "It's incredible. I'm still getting used to everything, but yeah, it's great."

Roberta gave her an odd look. "Still getting used to... where are you from, then?"

"2018, exactly fifty years in the future. But not this future. I'm from a whole 'nother universe."

"Elle."

"What?" Elle asked, glancing at the captain. "Who's she gonna tell?"

He conceded her point with a roll of his eyes.

"So where's your parents, then?" Roberta asked.

Elle froze. "They, um, they're at home," she said, her voice strangling in her throat.

"Oh." Roberta glanced away. "Sorry."

"No, sorry, I just," Elle shifted uneasily. "they, you're the first person to ask me that. Threw me off." She poked at the typewriter and chewed on her lip.

Something on the computer console beeped.

"Ah," Spock said, satisfied. He turned a knob and the viewscreen switched on to reveal Gary Seven climbing into the back of a trunk. "Fascinating."

They watched the feed with bated breath.

Elle got bored and poked at the green control cube. "Hey, computer?"

"Voiceprint not recognized," the computer replied.

"Oh. Hi. My name is Elle."

"Elle. Please state authorization code."

"Uhhh..." Elle bit her lip. "I don't have one. I just have a question."

The cube flashed cautiously.

"What's your favorite color?" Elle asked, wondering if this was a true AI.

"Favorite... color?"

"Yeah."

Lights flashed. "I've always been partial to the color green."

"Cool. My favorite color is, well, lots, but I like purple. What's your name?"

"I am Beta-Five."

"Beta," Elle mused. "Can I call you Betty?"

"Betty," the computer repeated. "That name is agreeable. How are you aware of this unit, and these operations?"

This would get back to the Aegis at some point, so might as well make it honest. "I'm from another universe that's aware of the Aegis."

"The probability of the Aegis failing to conceal their identity is too low to consider," Betty replied with an almost audible sniff.

"We don't have an Aegis, I think, though that would make sense that we haven't blown ourselves up yet. Anyway, I know about this specific one. You, Gary Seven, Roberta, Isis. In my universe you are a tv show."

Betty paused. "Like Bonanza?"

Elle smiled. "Yeah. Like Bonanza."

"Input received." Betty's green cube flashed sporadically for a while. "Voiceprint recorded, authorized, recognized. State query."

Elle blinked in surprise and glanced over at Kirk'n'Spock. They were focused on the screen, watching Seven do his thing. She looked back at the cube. "Officially, who are the Aegis?" she asked. Might as well go for broke.

"The Aegis are responsible for guiding and protecting the human race until they reach their full potential."

"Are humans the only ones they guide and protect?"

"Negative."

Well that was interesting. Elle leaned forward. "What measures do they take to protect the planets?"

"Measures such as the current mission," Betty replied.

"What about Omega IV?" Elle asked.

"The Roman Empire was established on a separate planet to give humans another viable path to self-actualization," Betty replied. "It did not succeed."

"Civilizations in isolation aren't super great," Elle agreed. "They might get somewhere, some day."

"Perhaps. Humans are very adaptable."

"He's done it," Kirk said, interrupting Elle's train of thought.

Seven pressed the recall button on his servo device. Spock worked his magic at the computer and a few seconds later, Seven walked through the transporter chamber, the mists dispersing around him.

"How'd it go?" Elle asked.

"Easy enough."

Elle pointed at the servo. "That looks like a sonic screwdriver."

Seven wrinkled his nose. "You're a Doctor Who fan, aren't you?"

"Who isn't?" Elle asked blithely. A thought came to her. "Did you... well not you, but one of you... is it based on an Aegis operative?"

Seven sighed. "No, unfortunately. Time travel. Ugh. I wouldn't touch that with a ten-mile pole. You are a brave man, Captain Kirk." He entered some information. "They'll be launching shortly and I can detonate the warhead at the right moment."

"According to history, 104 miles above ground," Spock informed him gravely.

Seven frowned. "No, no, that's far too low."

"Regardless," Spock said. "That is what the historical records say."

"Hmph."

Elle poked at Betty's cube. "Hey Betty, have the Yankee and the Communist societies been removed to a separate colony yet?"

"Preparations are underway," Betty said. "This unit is not authorized for details on that mission."

Seven glanced at Elle. "How did you- the computer shouldn't have- what?"

"The computer gave me authorization."

" _What_." Seven stabbed at one of the buttons. "Computer, specify the details of the latest authorization."

"Supervisor-level status assigned to Eleanor Wilcott," Betty reported.

Kirk leaned over to Elle. "How did you do that?" he whispered.

She shrugged. "I didn't do anything," she whispered back.

Seven looked fed up. "Did this unit authorize it?" he demanded.

"Negative," Betty said, offended. "Authorization came from the Aegis Homeworld Council."

Elle's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Reason for authorization?" Seven demanded.

"Classified," Betty replied, smug.

Elle glanced at the captain. He shrugged expressively. Elle turned back to Seven.

"No, I mean, it's odd, but if you're from an alternate universe there's no reason not to give you clearance if you know the basics already," Seven rationalized. "After all, who are you going to tell?"

Elle bobbed her head. "True that." Something occurred to her. "So, you do know about alternate universes."

Seven grimaced. "Just that the multiverse exists, I'm afraid. I was raised and geared towards _this_ Earth."

Elle glanced at the cube. "Betty, do you have information about alternate universes? How to travel between them?" Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kirk and Spock exchange a glance.

"This unit is aware of several incidents of travel between universes, incidents recorded in this planet's history. Details of the mechanism of travel are not available to this unit."

Elle chewed on her lip. "How about the Aegis homeworld? They must know something. Can't you uplink to them? Same query? Please?"

"Processing." Betty's cube blinked rapidly for a few long moments. "All incidents are classified. That information is not available."

Elle's heart sank. "Are you sure?"

"Affirmative."

Elle curled into herself. "Okay. Thank you." She looked up when Kirk put a gentle hand on her back. "It was a long shot, anyway."

He squeezed her shoulder in silent sympathy.

Robert cleared her throat. "Uh, hello? The missile?"

Seven whirled around to the console, muttering under his breath about 'time-traveling distractions.' He poked at the buttons savagely. On the screen, the nuclear warhead exploded. "104 miles," he said. "Huh."

Spock gave him a satisfied (dare Elle say, smug) look.

"So that's it?" Robert asked. "What now?"

"Now..." Seven sighed. "I will stay here, and I'll have to call for a partner."

"Or," Elle said, and looked at Roberta.

Seven followed her gaze. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

"She's a regular human."

"Exactly."

"There's no way she can keep up."

Roberta narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, Mr. Secret Agent, I have just as much interest in keeping humanity alive as you and your overlords do, mister. And, I know how to be normal, unlike you."

Seven grinned. "I suppose you do. Very well. Welcome to the Aegis, Miss Lincoln."

"Thanks." She shook his hand, and paused. "I'm still getting paid, right?"

Seven laughed. "Yes." He looked over at Kirk and Spock. "You got what you came for, I believe? You really shouldn't be here, you know."

"There's nothing more you can tell us?" Kirk asked.

"The only thing I can tell you, is that we are working towards the same goal," Seven said. "The betterment of humanity and the realization of all their true potential. It's my job to keep humans from killing themselves before we get there." He extended a hand. "It's your job to realize that potential. Goodbye, Captain Kirk."

They shook hands. Kirk called for a beam-up.

Elle knelt down to say goodbye to the cat. "Goodbye, Isis. Thank you. And, you know, if you're still around in the twenty-third century, you can maybe tell me the secret to traveling between universes, okay?"

Isis placed her paw on Elle's hand and looked at Elle for a moment, eyes solemn. Then she leapt away to twine around Spock's ankles.

"It's the ears," Elle told a fascinated Roberta.

Kirk smothered a laugh. "C'mon, Elle."

She waved at Seven. "Bye. Be mindful of what genetic engineering can do to humans, okay? You guys need to live to a ripe old age."

Seven squinted at her. "Should you be telling me this?"

"I don't know. I'm not an expert on time travel."

Seven huffed a laugh. "Safe travels, Elle."

**-/\\-**

The office dissolved in a swirl of light and the universe reformed into the Enterprise transporter room. Elle stepped off the dais and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Elle," Kirk said, pausing in front of her.

She forced a smile. "Like I said, it was a long shot. At least we completed the mission, though, right? Admiral Nogura will be happy. I just," she sighed. "Never mind."

The two senior officers headed up to the bridge and Elle went to change her clothes. She recycled the pink leggings and the shimmery tunic-dress. "Minidress uniforms aside, we're not doing the whole sixties thing anymore," she told her synthesizer. "This is the future, don't you know."

"Input not recognized," the synthesizer declared.

Elle rolled her eyes. "Never mind." She put on her dark blue leggings and a long T-shirt and added her flannel over top for extra comfort. She stuffed her feet into her favorite boots and sighed. "I need chocolate," she decided.

Thankfully, her chocolate sundae survived the trip back to the twenty-third century. Elle focused on enjoying the ice cream and not on the fact that she was stupid enough to raise her own hopes to find a way back home instead of remaining calm and rational and realizing that it's a very big multiverse and if the Aegis still aren't visible then why would they give the information to a _kid_ -

"Elle?"

She wiped at her eyes and looked up. "Captain?"

He smiled at her gently. "You want to get some sunshine?"

Elle frowned. "Huh?"

"We're in orbit around Earth." He held out a hand. "C'mon. Everybody gets shore leave while we're here. After we debrief, we can go see my parents."

Elle took his hand and pulled herself up from the table. "Wait a second," she said, stumbling to a stop. "After _we_ debrief?"

He gave her an innocent smile. "You were the one who got the computer authorization. They'll need to hear it in your own words."

Elle groaned. "Am I gonna have to write a report?"

"No, just verbal."

She groaned again.

"What, you don't want another opportunity to yell at an admiral?" Kirk asked, snickering.

"I don't yell," Elle said primly. "I scold. There's a difference."

"Oh really."

"Uh-huh." She gave him a dramatic look. "You'll _know_ when I'm yelling at an admiral."

He laughed. "I look forward to the day."

They beamed down to Star Fleet HQ. The grassy knoll overlooked the San Francisco Bay, and on the other side, the sprawling, gleaming complex of buildings that commanded the 'fleet.

Elle gaped. "Whoa... It looks so much cooler than in the movies!"

Kirk smiled. "Shall we?"

She grimaced. "Wait. Do I look okay? I'm not too informal for HQ?"

"You're a civilian, you look fine. C'mon."

Elle dragged her feet. "But I'm gonna be like the only kid, aren't I? Do I need a visitor's badge or something? Are you gonna look weird dragging a kid around-"

Kirk paused on the footpath and turned to face her. "What happened to 'scold all the admirals'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There's a lot of them," Elle protested.

"It's going to be fine," he promised.

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Okay. Let's do this."

"That's my girl."

They met Spock at the edge of the complex and the three of them walked into the commons. Quite a few people stared, a few more whispered, a few waved or nodded to the captain and Spock as they passed. One, a fellow captain, stopped to chat. "Hello, Jim," he said.

"Amir," Kirk replied, giving the man a smile. "Long time no see. Still on tour?"

"Still," the captain replied. He glanced at Elle and smiled at Kirk. "Your CMO's looking a little shrunken, there."

Kirk grinned. "This is Elle. Elle, Captain Amir Sundar, fastest secure courier in the 'fleet."

"Sir," Elle replied politely.

Amir smiled at her. "I'll let you get on," he said to Kirk. "Good seeing you again."

"You too." Kirk led them onwards until they reached Admiral Nogura's office. They were admitted immediately. "Admiral."

"Captain. Cmdr." Nogura's gaze went positively icy. "Miss Wilcott, here you are again."

"Miss Wilcott was a key part of our mission," Kirk interrupted. "Without her we wouldn't have gotten any of the information we now have."

Nogura frowned. "Report."

Kirk and Spock handled everything up to Elle's exchange with the computer.

"What led to your authorization?" Nogura asked.

Elle refused to fidget. "I asked it's favorite color, sir."

Nogura blinked. "Favorite.. color?"

"Yup."

"And?"

"Green."

The admiral narrowed his eyes at her.

Elle continued, "We chatted for a bit, I named her Betty, since she's a Beta-5 model, and out of the blue she said I had access. So I asked her what the Aegis was."

They took turns recounting the rest of the mission. When Kirk finished speaking, Nogura stared at the three of them for a moment. "We obviously sent the right crew for the job," Nogura said. He looked at Elle. "And you, Miss Wilcott. You are the strangest child I've ever met."

"Thank you, sir," Elle replied, deadpan.

Nogura nodded. "Dismissed."


	44. Alpacas and Neo-Dadaism

Spock had stuff to do, as befits the XO of the flagship, so he stayed behind at HQ. Kirk and Elle got a long-range transporter beam to Riverside, Iowa.

"Welcome to the Kirk farmhouse," the captain said, gesturing to the comfortably old ranch home.

Elle spotted the security field emitter under a defunct tractor and the comm. array under the eaves of the house. "Oh, okay, I was worried for a second," she said. "I thought your family, was like, _crazy_ old-school. Like Captain Picard."

Kirk stifled a laugh. "Good eye. We gotta have a line of defense against intruders and reporters. Don't draw attention to them."

"I won't." Elle dragged her feet, trying to peer into the barn. "Is that a working barn? Do you have horses? Do you have _cows_?"

"We have horses, and a couple of alpacas," Kirk replied.

A quiet 'moo' drifted from the open barn door.

"And I guess we replaced the cow," Kirk said, shrugging. He led Elle up to the front door and knocked.

"Hun, Cale's here," a woman's voice hollered as she pulled open the door. She stopped halfway and gaped at them. "Jimmy!"

Kirk took the bear hug like a pro and squeezed his mother tight. "Mom. Hi."

She kissed his cheek and leaned back to look at him. "Welcome back, Jim."

Elle's breath caught in her throat at the warm reunion between mother and son. _I miss my mom_. She didn't have time to mope, because Mrs. Kirk had noticed her and started glancing between Kirk and Elle.

"And who's this?" she asked, giving her son a sharp look.

"Mom, this is Elle Wilcott. She's a civilian currently living on the Enterprise with us."

"Your parent's serving on the Enterprise?" Mrs. Kirk asked.

Elle opened her mouth, closed it, and glared at Kirk.

He grimaced. "I may have forgotten to inform them since you were staying on the Enterprise anyways?" he said sheepishly.

Mrs. Kirk folded her arms, and yup, that Look came from his mom's side of the family. "What's going on?"

Kirk put an arm around Elle's shoulders. "Elle is a ward of Star Fleet. My senior officers and I are her guardians."

Mrs. Kirk's eyes softened. "Oh. Why didn't you say so?" She reached out and pulled Elle into a hug. "Welcome to Iowa, sweetheart."

Elle closed her eyes tightly and soaked up as much warmth as she could. "Thank you, ma'am," she said, upon being released.

"Where are you from originally, honey?" Mrs. Kirk asked, ushering both of them into the living room.

"Uh, Oregon?" Elle said, startled by the question.

Kirk laughed. "It's all right, Elle, my parents have clearance. You can tell them the truth."

Elle sagged in relief. "Okay, good, because I'm really bad at cover stories."

"Yes, I've noticed," Kirk drawled.

Elle faced his mom. "I'm from 21st century Oregon, in a different universe. Different Earth."

Mrs. Kirk's jaw dropped. "Well that's different," was all she said. "How long have you been here?"

"Like, eight months?" Elle said. "I don't really get the whole stardate thing still."

"Eight months," Kirk confirmed.

Mrs. Kirk turned to her son. "And you've gone eight months without informing your parents that you have a kid, now?"

"Who has a what-now?" another voice asked, and the older, broader, version of James Kirk walked in the room. "Jim!"

Kirk smiled. "Dad."

Elle watched them hug. She hadn't known that Kirk's dad lasted this long. _Okay, no, that sounds bad. Uhhhh_... She was still stuck on when George Kirk, Sr. was supposed to have disappeared/died when both men turned to her.

"Dad, this is the Enterprise's newest member, Elle Wilcott. Elle, my dad."

Elle shook his hand. "Sir."

He smiled at her. "So you're the mission consultant everybody's so fired up about?"

Elle blinked. "I guess?"

"Who's everybody?" Kirk asked sharply.

Mr. (Commander?) Kirk patted his son on the back. "Just a few admirals, son, and the Vulcan ambassador. I didn't know she was so young... I assumed that my own son would tell me when he'd adopted a kid."

Kirk rubbed the back of his neck. "Eh-heh."

Seeing the infamous Captain Kirk being scolded by his parents... Elle bit her lip but she couldn't help her shoulders shaking.

"Coffee's ready," Mrs. Kirk announced, breaking the moment. A faint beeping from the kitchen seconded her words.

"Mm, coffee," Kirk said, and disappeared into the kitchen, his mom on his heels.

Elle looked up at Commander Kirk. He smiled down at her. She bounced once on her heels and grinned up uncertainly.

"So...besides spearheading the initiative to put civilians on starships, are you really a civilian mission consultant?"

Elle nodded. "It's really exciting, when stuff is going on. And it's, educational, when it's not exciting. Sometimes its educational _and_ exciting. Mostly in Engineering, when things are blowing up and Scotty's bellowing at redshirts."

Commander Kirk laughed. "That sounds great." He leaned forward, a conspiratorial look on his face. "So. If the senior officers are your guardians... what book are you and Jim reading?"

Elle smiled. "Right now we're reading 1984."

The senior Kirk's eyebrows went up. "Heavy reading material for a kid," he said, noncommitall.

Elle scoffed. "You should see the books where I come from. They don't even _have_ the Divergent or the Hunger Games series, or Lord of the Flies in this universe."

Commander Kirk stared at her. "What... what is the Hunger Games about?"

"Where they choose one person from each district to fight to the death in the arena, and how the totalitarian government, and then the rebellion, manipulate the latest winner of the games for their own purposes," Elle replied.

He gaped at her. "Your universe is very, uh..."

"It's the _worst_ ," Elle agreed.

"...Is the Lord of the Flies a religious tome?" he asked.

Elle cracked up. "Nope. Really, really, nope."

Kirk walked back into the living room, two cups of coffee in hand. "Here, Elle."

She accepted the sturdy mug and sipped it. She squinted at him suspiciously. "Is there even any coffee in this milk?"

"Stunts your growth," Kirk replied serenely. "This is how me and Sam used to drink it."

"Oh."

The doorbell rang. "That should be Cale," Commander Kirk said, glancing around for his shoes. "Hun, where-"

"Upstairs, I'll get 'em. Don't leave him standing outside, George."

Kirk Sr. opened the door. "Come in, come in." He and the the sturdy, older man bro-hugged in greeting. "You remember my son, James Kirk?"

"James," the man said, shaking the captain's hand with a brief smile.

"And this is Elle Wilcott, the Enterprise's civilian mission consultant. Elle, this is Cale Sanderson, a diplomatic advisor to the Federation and the man I'm in charge of babysitting."

Cale Sanderson rolled his eyes at Kirk Sr. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Wilcott," he said.

Elle put a closed fist over her chest and bowed. "Sir. It's an honor."

Both men froze. Captain Kirk, standing off to the side, looked absolutely delighted at their struck expressions.

"An interesting greeting," Cale said, his voice slightly strangled.

Elle raised an eyebrow. "I figured you had to be homesick by now."

"Who is this?" Cale asked, looking at Captain Kirk.

Kirk grinned. "She's a nerd from another universe whose favorite subject was the adventures of the Enterprise, even before the Enterprise was named." He grinned as both men paled. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you served on the Enterprise, dad."

"It's still classified," George Kirk said sternly.

"But since we know, anyway, you should tell Captain Kirk what an honorable Rihannsu looks like so he knows for future reference," Elle said, gesturing between the two of them.

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "Are we encountering Romulans any time soon?" he asked mildly.

"I don't know. Things don't translate to once a week," Elle said, shrugging. "But it's better to be prepared, right?"

"True. If you wouldn't mind, Cale?"

"Of course not, James."

The two of them retreated to the two armchairs to discuss Romulan culture. George Kirk put his hands on his hips and frowned down at Elle. "So that's why you're on the Enterprise," he said.

She nodded. "I'm a walking spoiler."

"I'm surprised you're not at HQ."

Elle smiled innocently. "I convinced them it was more secure to keep me on a moving target."

"And closer to the action?" he asked knowingly.

Elle shrugged. "Closer to the people that I know and love." She hunched her shoulders, feeling weird to talk to the captain's dad about this. "I mean, you know. I don't know anyone in this whole universe."

"You know us," George Kirk said kindly. "You'll have a home here, if you need it."

"Thank you," Elle said, blushing.

They moved over to the sofas to listen to Cale's leture on The Decline of the Honor System in Rihanssu Culture... it was, dare Elle say it, fascinating.

The old-fashioned grandfather clock chimed. "Okay, we need to go or you'll be late," George Kirk said, standing up.

Captain Kirk and Cale shook hands. "Thank you for your insights," Kirk said.

"You are welcome." Cale turned to Elle. "Miss Wilcott."

She smiled. "Elle. You can call me Elle."

"Thank you, Elle."

The two older men left. "I'll be back for dinner, Jimmy, tell your ma," George Kirk added, before leaving.

Elle and the captain looked at each other. "Now what?" Elle asked.

"Would you like to meet the alpacas?"

Elle beamed. "Totally."

**-/\\-**

"Captain, I respectfully request to trade in Simba for an alpaca."

Kirk snorted. "No."

Elle hugged Shark the Alpaca tightly. "I love you," she told the animal solemnly.

Shark burped at her.

Elle laughed.

The other alpaca, Minion, nudged her arm for attention.

Elle, trying to pet both of them at the same time, didn't notice Kirk taking pictures of her until the 'snick' of the holocamera caught her hearing. "Hey!"

He held up the camera, grinning. "These are going up on the wall," he said. "My mom's gonna love this picture."

"Uncle Jim?"

"Peter!"

Elle watched a boy a couple of years younger than her fling himself at the captain. Kirk grabbed him in a hug, picked him up, and swung him around, both of them asking questions and rambling about "school-gramma didn't say-" "so good to see you-how was" "space, did you bring Dr. Bones-"

Elle scuffed one toe in the dirt and patted Shark on the neck as uncle and nephew reconnected.

"Who's that?" Peter gaped at Elle.

"Hi," Elle said, giving him a half-awkward wave.

"Petey, this is Elle. She's living on board the Enterprise with us," Jim said. "She's kind of, uh, a your pseudo-cousin, since the senior officers have guardianship."

Peter turned a knowing look on Elle. "Your parents gone too?" he asked.

Elle nodded. "Yup."

"Oof," he said, with all the deadpan compassion of a Gen-Z, thus displaying cultural sensitivity found only among those who have seen the complete degeneration of their entire world and found comfort in neo-dadaism and the understatement of tragedy. Apparently it was common in pre-WWIII culture. She and McCoy had a whole discussion about it. There was only one possible reply.

"Yup." She held up a fist, he bumped it with his own fist, and they grinned at each other.

Kirk glanced from one to the other, nonplussed by the interaction. "Oookay." He glanced from one to the other. "So, ma said there's blackberry cobbler."

"Ooh." Peter detached Elle from the alpaca. "C'mon, gramma's blackberry cobbler is the _best_ , we pick them ourselves, they're _so good_."

"I'm always down for cobbler," Elle said.

"There's ice cream too, I saw it," Peter said, still tugging Elle and Kirk towards the house.

" _Nice_."

Kirk smiled. "Just don't get sick to your stomach, please," he said. "McCoy would kill me."

"Yes, sir," Elle replied.

They feasted on cobbler, ice cream, and lemonade, and then Peter showed Elle the hay loft and the barn kittens, and then it was time for dinner, which meant more cobbler. After that, Elle and Peter played video games while the Kirks chatted in the living room.

"So how's your crew taking to babysitting?" Kirk's dad asked, after the mission tales had concluded.

Elle figured the adults had forgotten she and Peter were only ten feet away. She decided to not enlighten them. What if the captain was tired of her?

The captain sounded fond as he answered. "She's very mature for her age, and when she's not, she's adorable. Don't tell her that, she'll turn up the sass and make Spock weep from the illogic of it all. She's the best thing to happen to the Enterprise," he said, and took a sip of beer. "Not only for her knowledge of mission events, though. It's made us closer as a crew, I think. And she certainly knows us better than we know ourselves, which is kind of awkward when a thirteen-year-old tells you you're being an idiot to your face and then kindly proceeds to tell you why."

"Rude?" Mrs. Kirk asked.

Kirk smiled. "Nope. Well, sometimes, but never out of malice." He smirked. "You should've seen Admiral Nogura's face when she sassed him, oh, I wish we'd recorded that. And Commodore Wesley."

Peter glanced at Elle. "You _sassed_ an _admiral_?" he whispered.

"He was being condescending," Elle whispered back. "Captain Kirk didn't deserve that." She pointed out an incoming challenge and they turned back to the game.

A few minutes later Mrs. Kirk interrupted with, "Peter, bedtime."

Peter saved the game. "Okay, gramma." He looked over at Elle. "Are you sleeping over?"

Elle looked at the captain.

He nodded. "We'll stay here tonight and then go meet up with Bones in Georgia tomorrow, sound good?"

Elle smiled. "Sounds awesome." She stifled a yawn. "I think I'll go to bed, too."

"Goodnight, Elle," George Kirk said.

Elle smiled at him. "Night, sir."

"Don't sir me," he said, scandalized. "I'm retired, now, I'm not a sir. You can call me George."

Elle shook her head solemnly. "I cannot. My mother will reach through from my home universe and smack me for disrespecting an elder. I'm serious."

His smile softened. "How about Grandpa?"

Elle hesitated. She looked over at the captain. Was that too presumptous? Nope, Jim Kirk was beaming like the sunrise. "Okay. Cool." She paused. "If you count as grandparents from my legal guardians, does that mean I have seven sets of grandparents?"

The captain laughed. "Absolutely."

Peter's head popped down from the stairs. "Hey, Uncle Jim, could you tell me a story for bed?"

Kirk smiled. "Sure thing, kiddo."

Mrs. Kirk "call me grandma, or Grandma Win" replicated Elle a set of pj's and a toothbrush.

Elle got ready for bed. She and Peter would be sharing what used to be Sam and the captain's room, Peter in the bed and Elle on an air mattress. The captain had the spare room.

The captain was sitting on the edge of Peter's bed, listening his nephew talk about the robotics club at school, a fond smile on his face.

Elle cocooned herself comfortably in the blankets on the air mattress and settled in to go to sleep.

"Okay, now tell me a story," Peter said. "A cool one, I'm too big for boring ones."

The captain was definitely smirking. "Well, how bout I tell you the one where we foiled a plot from the Klingons and stopped an infestation of dangerous animals?"

"Whoa," Peter said, suitably impressed.

Elle popped her head up. "The tribble story?"

"Quiet in the peanut gallery," Kirk commanded, smirking at her.

When James T. Kirk told a story, you could tell he was a student of the written word. He was very Shakespearian, one could almost say, Shatner-ian, in the way he wove the Tale of the Trouble With Tribbles. And, as unselfconscious as always, he even included the part where he got buried in tribbles, to Peter's shrieking delight.

Elle may or may not have recorded the retelling of Tribble-ocalypse with her holocamera for future reference. She put it away hastily as Kirk finished the story and tucked his nephew in.

"Good night, Petey," Kirk said, "sweet dreams."

"I like that story," Peter said. "Elle, were you there for that story?"

"I was there," Elle confirmed, "but he forgot the part about the time travelers who came back to stop a tribble from exploding."

Kirk, in the act of ruffling Peter's hair, froze. "What?"

 _Abort, abort, ohhhhh_... "That's the subplot?" Elle tried weakly.

Kirk turned to stare at her, eyes narrowed. "Time travelers? Exploding tribbles?" he demanded.

"Did the station blow up?" Elle asked.

"No."

"Well it was taken care of then, no need to worry, I promise."

He mock-scowled at her. "I want that story from you once we get back on the ship, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Elle said. "But only off the record."

"Fine." He moved to the door. "Good night, you two."

"Night," the two kids chorused.

Elle closed her eyes. Now that she was all wrapped up and settled in, she wasn't sleepy. She focused on listening to Peter breathe. It didn't sound like he was asleep either.

He shifted around a couple times.

Elle stared up at the ceiling, looking for interesting shapes in the grey-dark light.

"Did Uncle Jim tell you how my parents and brothers died?" Peter asked suddenly, breaking the quiet.

Elle bit her lip and focused on the spot of light through the window. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Yeah." He shifted around again. "What happened to your parents?"

Elle turned on her side, away from Peter. "Nothing. They're fine. It's me. I died in my universe and came here. I can't go back. So they're lost, well, I'm lost."

"Oh." A moment of contemplative silence. "But Uncle Jim found you."

"Yeah."

"Good." Peter exhaled softly. "He's good at that."

"Yeah." Elle smiled, a tiny quirk of the lips. "Yeah he is."

Peter was quiet, and eventually his breaths deepened as he fell asleep.

Elle closed her eyes.

**-/\\-**

"You've got my comm, we can play Minecraft when you're in range," Peter offered.

"That sounds great." Elle gave him a hug. "It was good to meet you."

"You too. Stay safe in space."

"Stay safe in school. Learn about Klingons."

Peter blinked. "Klingons? Why?"

"Because when we're grown up we're gonna be friends with them," Elle replied.

"Oh. Cool." He gave Kirk a hug. "Bye, Uncle Jim, take care of Elle, say hi to Spock, don't do anything dumb, love you!" And Peter was off running to catch the bus.

Elle got two great hugs goodbye from the Kirk family, and then she and the captain were off to Georgia on the shuttle.

"Apparently, his daughter is there, too," Kirk said, checking his communicator. "Huh. Bones said she was on a colony world on rotation, must've come home early, It'll be nice to meet her, he talks about her so much."

"You flirt with her in any way, shape, or form, Bones's gonna kill you," Elle warned him.

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "I'm well aware, thank you," he said dryly.

"Okay, just making sure," Elle said, nudging his shoulder with hers.

**-/\\-**

There was no undue flirting. Kirk was polite, charming, and ended up talking mostly to Bones' mother about 'Dr. McCoy's marvelous medicines'.

"Jim will you cut it out? I'm not a miracle worker," Bones griped.

"Close enough," Kirk retorted fondly.

Bones rolled his eyes and then got distracted as Joanna asked him a question about 'adrenal something or other.'

Elle took another bite of cinammon bun and washed it down with sweet tea. They had to get more vacations on Earth, this was great.

She managed to eat two buns and peach preserves before Bones' junk-food meter went off.

"Okay, young lady, that's enough." Bones switched out her tea for water.

Elle and Joanna shared a glance in perfect sympathy.


	45. Spock's Brain

Starmapping, the only good excuse for Elle to hang out on the bridge for hours, distracting everybody from staring at nothing.

"But is it Odin or Thor who sets the bar on who's worthy?" Sulu asked. "Or is it the hammer itself?"

"Does that mean the hammer would have sentience?" Chekov asked.

"Well, the only ones that could lift it were..."

Elle glanced from one crewmember to the other, delighted. She didn't think that introducing the Avengers meta-questions into conversation would be so productive, but, you know, "Nerds," she whispered happily. "I love this ship."

Spock glanced over at her and raised a sardonic eyebrow. He knew exactly what she was doing.

Elle smiled at him.

"So does that mean that the hammer is a constant and the universe is not?"

"Considering how dense the material is, it might be a-"

The red alert siren shattered the calm environment just as effectively as Mjolnir. "Report," Kirk ordered.

"Unknown vessel heading towards us at maximum warp," Sulu reported. "They came out of nowhere, computer engaged Red Alert on auto."

Kirk frowned. "Let the alert stand, all systems ready."

"Phaser banks standing by, sir," Sulu said.

"Range?" Kirk asked.

Chekov cleared his throat. "Forty three thousand and closing."

"Configuration unidentified," Spock reported, not-frowning. "Ion propulsion, high velocity, though of a unique technology."

Kirk turned to the comm station. "Any contact, Lieutenant?"

"Hailing on all frequencies, sir. All languages have been attempted. No response. Now using standard interstellar symbols."

"Keep trying."

"Aye sir."

"Magnification ten, Mr. Chekov." Kirk turned to Elle. "Recognize it, Elle?"

Elle frowned at it. "No... it's pretty though."

"An interesting design."

Scotty nodded. " I've never seen anything like her. And ion propulsion at that. They could teach us a thing or two."

"Ion propulsion," Elle muttered, frowning at the screen.

"Life forms, Mister Spock?"

"One. Humanoid or similar. Low level of activity. Life-support systems functioning. Interior atmosphere, conventional nitrogen-oxygen. Instruments indicate a transferal beam emanating from the area of the humanoid life form."

"Directed at what?" Kirk asked sharply.

"Directed at the Bridge of the Enterprise, Captain."

"Elle get below," Kirk snapped. "Security team to bridge."

"Security to bridge," Uhura said into the comm.

Elle was halfway to the turbolift when there was a bright light and a woman materialized onto the bridge. The woman gave everyone a beatific smile.

"I'm Captain James Kirk, this is the starship Enterprise, of the United Federation of Planets. I ask-"

The turbolift doors opened and Giotto and two others rushed out, phasers at the ready.

The woman smiled and lifted her hand to the vambrace on her arm.

The memory if this episode hit Elle like a semi-truck to the head and she backed towards the science station as the lady advanced. "No! Spock, no! Listen lady, not this ship, you don't need-"

The lady pushed the button.

A warm wave of tingly energy hit Elle like a summer's gust of wind. The lights flickered, the ship's engines made a sad sound, and Elle felt the world going topsy turvy.

"No," Elle protested, and the world went black.

**-/\\-**

"Elle?" Someone shook her shoulder lightly. "Elle?"

"Nnh," Elle groaned, blinking awake to Giotto's worried face leaning over her. "What hap- Spock!" She sat upright so quickly she almost bonked heads with Giotto. "Spock, where's Spock, ohhhhh flying spaghetti, oh, _no_." She bolted for the turbolift.

"Elle, calm down," Kirk said, gripping her shoulders lightly. "Deep breath, what's going on? Where's Spock?"

"I-"

"McCoy to Bridge, Jim!"

Kirk nodded to Uhura to open the channel. "Yes, what is it?"

"You'd better come down to Sickbay right now," Bones said, sounding terribly disturbed.

"On my way," Kirk said. "Elle, with me."

They got in the lift. Elle chewed on her lip. "I really hope..."

"Hope what?" Kirk asked. "What's going on?"

"That lady," Elle said helplessly, "I think, I think she took Spock's brain."

Kirk stared at her. "... _What_?" As soon as the lift stopped, he bolted for Sickbay.

Elle sprinted after him.

"Is it true?" Kirk demanded, skidding to a stop beside Spock's biobed. "Is it... you have him on complete life support... oh Spock..."

"How did you-" McCoy glanced at Elle. "You... this is an episode?"

"Yeah," Elle said miserably, inching over to look at Spock. He was so still. "I'm sorry, I didn't remember this until it was happening, this episode is so ridiculous, I didn't think it was even real, I mean..."

"It's certainly real," McCoy said grimly. "His brain's been surgically removed."

"How could he survive?" Kirk asked hoarsely.

McCoy sounded grudgingly respectful. "It's the greatest technical job I've ever seen. Every nerve ending in the brain must've been neatly sealed. Nothing ripped, nothing torn, no bleeding. It's a medical miracle."

Kirk's fingers tightened on the edge of the biobed. "If his brain is missing, then Spock is dying."

"No. That incredible Vulcan physique hung on until the life-support cycle took over. His body lives. The autonomic functions continue. But there is no mind."

Elle frowned. His body lives, but there is no mind... _before he died in the Wrath of Khan_? Wait... was this the greatest example of foreshadowing in the history of science fiction? This was better than River Song's reveal in Doctor Who... except, you know, that his _BRAIN WAS GONE_.

"Elle, sweetheart?"

Elle forced her gaze up. "Huh?"

"The girl," Kirk prompted.

"Right." Elle refocused. "She took his brain to use it as a controler for their civilization's systems. They live underground."

"Can we put it back?"

Elle scrunched her face, trying to think. "Uhhhh..."

"Elle." Kirk put his hands on her shoulders, his expression more intense than she'd ever seen it. "Can. We. Fix. Spock?"

"Yeah," Elle replied, giving him a firm nod. "We can do it. We just have to find the planet, find the underground civilization, and convince the woman that they don't need a brain to run their systems."

Kirk squeezed her shoulders in thanks and looked at McCoy. "How long do we have?"

"Twenty-four hours, max," McCoy said.

"Elle, do you know the location of the planet?"

Elle shook her head. "I only watched the episode, like, once, I didn't like it, it was dumb..." she trailed off and glanced back at Spock. "Not so dumb. Sorry."

Kirk scowled fiercely. "That woman was in an ion-propulsion ship. We can follow the trail. C'mon, Elle."

She trailed after him.

He dropped her off at her quarters. "Can you rewatch the episode in your memories, try and pull the name of the system or more details?"

Elle bit her lip. "I'll try, but, I need help if I've only seen it once, and Spock..."

"Oh." His face fell. "Can you try anyway?"

"Of course."

"Good. Thank you." He walked one step away and turned back to her. "Elle?"

"Yes, captain?"

"Do we get him back?"

She nodded. "We get him back."

His shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch. "Thank you." He headed for the lift.

Elle went into her quarters, went into her bedroom, and closed the door. She took a deep breath. Spock was counting on her. She sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, closed her eyes, and tried to remember the episode.

_"If we guess wrong, Spock will die."_

_"Glaciers."_

_"She has the mind of a child."_

_8-year-old Elle pointed at the TV screen. "It's a brain sucker!"_

_Her father laughed. "And what's it doing?"_

_"Starving!" Mini-Elle shrieked with laughter and collapsed into her dad's side. She tugged his arm until he wrapped her in a hug. "Wait, daddy, what's it really doing? What's Bones doing?"_

_"He's learning from it, but it's only gonna last three hours."_

_"That's not enough time to stick a whole brain back in!" Mini-Elle protested, eyes wide. "Is Spock going to_ die!? _"_

_"No, he's going to- wait, why am I telling you? You have to watch, baby, to get the full experience out of it." He chucked her under the chin. "Watch them be brilliant, baby."_

_Mini-Elle turned her attention to the screen. "Wait, dad, what's going to happen to the girls and the boys?"_

_Her dad turned red. "Uhhhh, you can ask your mom."_

_8-year-old Elle gave him an unimpressed look. "I'm not talking about them making babies. I mean their brains, dad! They're grownups, they can't be that stupid or they'll die!" She seriously didn't understand why he was laughing so hard. It wasn't funny._

Elle surfaced, blinking. She glanced at the chrono. It'd been four hours. She stood up. Her head spun and she threw herself back on the bed. "I need water," she declared, blinking up at the ceiling. "Simba, we need to get a water bottle."

The tribble purred in agreement and did not procure a water bottle.

Elle sat up, waited for the room to stop spinning, and replicated a bottle of Gatorade. "We're going to drink all of this, Simba, because if we try and go talk to the captain and fumble it, he's going to hit the roof. And he's already worried about Spock, we can't give him anything else to worry about, okay?"

She put her shoes on and picked up the tribble. "Computer, where is Captain Kirk?"

"Captain Kirk is on the bridge."

Elle marched up to the bridge, Simba tucked under her arm like a football.

Captain Kirk stopped pacing. "Elle? Please tell me you have something."

Elle grimaced. "Not the name of the system, because I was eight, and I don't remember it, but I do remember that the planet we're looking for is cold and has glaciers on the surface but underneath it's got a compound or something, and that's where Spock's brain is. He's fine, by the way." She handed him the tribble.

Kirk closed his eyes in relief and almost fell into his chair, clutching Simba as it started to purr. "Good. Good, thank you, Elle. Anything else?"

"Uhhh, the males live on the surface, and the females live underground in the complex currently run by uh, brainpower. Everybody there has the mind of a child because, like, the main brain runs everything and they just do as they're told."

"If everyone has the mind of a child, how did they remove Spock's brain so perfectly?" Sulu asked.

"They have this thing, I remember calling it a brain-sucker, but it's like, the opposite. It dumps information into your brain, like uh, like what happened to Colonel O'Neill in Stargate, when the Ancient database got downloaded into his brain. The woman, that one that came onboard, she puts on this device and it downloads all the knowledge into her brain and she's the most intelligent person, but it wears off after three hours."

"So if we find this, device, she can put Spock's brain back?" Kirk asked.

Elle grimaced. "Uhhh, considering we're totally going to destroy their way of life by removing the motherboard, she's not gonna wanna do it. If we can convince her, maybe she will though? In the episode, McCoy does it, but he doesn't finish in three hours so Spock has to help him, still half-in the computer, or something. It works. I think the key will be not getting knocked out and not getting slave belts put on, otherwise there's gonna be a lot of tasering in the near future and we can skip that."

They blinked at her.

"But we get him back," Kirk said.

"Yes."

"Then we just have to keep going," Kirk said firmly. "Thank you, Elle." He pet the tribble absently. "If we're going to keep following this trail, I think I'll take the opportunity to rest."

"Need your diplomacy skills for when we find the planet," Elle agreed.

Kirk stood up. "You have the conn, Sulu."

"Aye, sir."

Kirk handed Elle the tribble back, pressed an absent kiss to the top of her head, and exited the bridge.

Elle smiled.

Sulu and Chekov exchanged a glance. "Did you just manipulate the captain into getting some sleep?" Chekov asked. "With a _tribble_?"

Elle's grin widened. "Good news, and fluffy pets. All that dopamine, all that nice serotonin, makes all the muscles relax." She smiled at them. "I've been covering psychology with Bones."

"Zat is terrifying," Chekov replied. "Good job."

"Thanks." She stared out at the starfield. "How long does the trail keep going?"

"A while yet," Sulu said, leaning back in his chair. "You're gonna need sleep, too, Elle. Go on."

She pouted.

"What's good for the captain is good for the civilian mission consultant," Sulu said firmly. "Good night."

"Good night," Elle grumbled, tucking Simba under her arm. She paused. "Can you wake me up when we find the right system?"

Sulu gave her a comforting smile. "Yeah."

"Okay. Good. Thanks. Night."

Instead of going to her quarters, she went to sickbay. "Bones?"

"Yeah?"

Elle looked at Spock's motionless body. "Is he still okay?"

"He's stable," Bones confirmed. "You remember something from this mission?"

She repeated what she'd told the captain.

"Simple," Bones said. "We'll take two surgeons with us. I'll start it, once the three hours wears off, M'Benga can take over and finish up."

Elle gaped at him. "Seriously?"

"Why not?"

"Th- I mean, yeah. That's a good idea." Elle blinked. "Why didn't you do that in the episode?"

"It's more dramatic if the main character has to do disembodied surgery on himself," Bones said dryly. "Go get some sleep."

"Yeah."

Elle took a shower, drank some hot cocoa, and lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. It was the same feeling as, 'we're getting up at four am to go to the airport to start vacation', or 'state testing starts at eight am tomorrow, gotta be up early.' She started counting out loud in Spanish, and then in Vulcan, and then in Andori...

**-/\\-**

"Elle to bridge. Elle to bridge."

The high, piercing whistle and the page knocked the sleep right out of her brain. Elle fell out of bed, scrambled for the comm. "On'm'way," she replied, and tripped over her sneakers. "Ouch."

She managed to put her clothes on and ran to the bridge. "Whaddawegot?" she panted, leaning on the rail next to Uhura's station.

"Sigma Draconis," Kirk said. "This is where the trail ends."

"Three Class-M planets, two with pre-interstellar flight civilizations," Chekov reported. "The other one is covered in glaciers."

Uhura spoke up. "Sir, I'm picking up regular energy pulses from that planet."

"That's the one," Elle confirmed.

Kirk nodded. "Have the transporter room stand by. I'm taking a landing party down to planet six."

"Take me with you," Elle said.

"No."

She captured his sleeve. "But captain, they have the minds of children. I'm a child, it all evens out. Plus, they treat the men like slaves and if you don't take a girl with you, you're gonna end up captured."

"I will not risk your life on an uncharted planet," Kirk retorted.

"It's not uncharted, people live there." She met his gaze. "Captain. We only have eight hours to get Spock's brain back in his head. We can't afford to waste time. Take me with you. Please?"

He sighed. "If you get hurt, Spock's gonna kill me."

"No he won't, we're saving his butt, er, brain." She tugged him into the lift. "Let's go."

Giotto almost stroked out when Kirk informed him that Elle was part of the landing party. "You are going on the whiteboard of shame, young lady," he said severely, and handed her a phaser and a communicator. "Martinez!" he barked. "You're with Elle. Let her out of your sight and I'll have your hide."

"Yes, sir!"

They went to the transporter room.

Elle was fine until the door slid open and McCoy and zombie-Spock walked in, his gate mehanical and puppet-like. She shrank behind Martinez. "Oh, noo, no no, do not like," she said, cringing as zombie-Spock came closer to step on the dais.

"Come on," Kirk said, tugging her onto the platform. "The faster we get this done, the faster we get Spock back to himself."

"Yeah." She chanced another glance at zombie-Spock. His eyes stared blankly ahead. He had no life. Elle shuddered and turned away. _Note to self. Do not get your brains stolen ever._

McCoy, M'Benga, Scotty, and four Security officers joined them on the dais.

"Energize," Kirk said.


	46. Brain Surgery Isn't All That Exciting

Cold. Cold. Cold. Elle huddled into her jacket and flipped up her collar as soon as they materialized. She turned in a circle, trying to find the cave entrance.

Scotty got her attention. "Captain! There's someone, something out there in the rocks. Five of them. Humanoid, large."

Kirk frowned. "Phasers on stun. I want them conscious."

Elle stayed next to zombie-Spock as the security officers took down the group of cavemen.

Kirk approached the leader cautiously. "We mean you no harm. We're not your enemies, we're your friends. We only wish to talk to you."

The man scowled fearfully. "You are not the Others?"

"No. We come from a far place. We are different than you and the others. We wish to find them."

The man pointed at Elle. "She is Other. She will know where to go."

"I'm lost," Elle said. "I want to go to the others. Take us, please."

He stared at her, paralyzed by terror.

Kirk turned to look at Elle expectantly.

She shrugged. "Uhhh, I got nothing."

Scotty spoke up. "Captain, five hundred metres in that direction there's a foundation under the surface. A huge one. Registrations all over the place."

Kirk nodded. "Take Elle, see if you can find a way down."

"Aye, sir."

The native man freaked out and scrambled away. "No!"

"Okay," Kirk said. "I guess we'll all go."

Elle saw the tripwire the same time as Scotty. "Look! This is the thing."

"Is this a trap?" Scotty asked.

"Yup."

Kirk waved. "Bones, get in here."

The two doctors and zombie-Spock entered the cave. "Martinez, you and the security team will remain here at the entrance," Kirk said.

"Respectfully, sir, I'm assigned to Elle."

Kirk grinned ruefully. "You're right. Solomon, you and your team will stay here."

"Aye sir."

Kirk came back into cave. "Ready?" he asked, and tripped the beam.

A metal shutter came down, sealing off the entrance. The "cave" dropped, a high-speed elevator in disguise.

McCoy groaned. "Call Solomon and tell him to send my stomach down."

Elle giggled.

"We're slowing down," Kirk said, after a long few seconds.

The door slid open to reveal a woman in yellow waiting for them in the corner. She reached for her wrist band.

Elle darted forward. "Wait! Hi! I am Elle. These are my frie... these are mine."

The woman gaped at her for a few seconds. "I am Luma. Where did you come from?"

"Another place," Elle said.

Luma frowned. "You are not Eymorg. Yours are not Morg. What are you?"

"We are different," Elle said. "I am a girl. These are boys."

"Girl," Luma repeated.

Elle cleared her throat. "We need to speak to the Controller."

"It is here," Luma replied agreeably. "Come." She gestured further down the corridor and they started walking.

"Where?" Kirk asked.

"Here," Luma said.

"Where is here?"

"This place." Luma gestured further down the corridor.

McCoy put his hand on Kirk's arm. He was having a field day with his medical tricorder. "Jim, you're not gonna get anything out of her. Hers is literally the mind of a child."

"Leave it to the professionals," Elle chided jokingly. She looked up at the ceiling. "Spock?"

"...Elle?" came a voice from the ceiling.

"Spock!" Kirk said, almost vibrating with the need to go find him Right Now. "Where are you?!"

"Unfortunately, I do not know where I am."

"We'll get you, Spock," Kirk promised. "It won't be long."

"A practical idea, Captain. It seems unlikely that I shall be able to get to you."

Luma looked impressed. "The Controller speaks to you."

"We are friends," Elle said.

Luma led them to a large meeting room. Several other women were sitting in different spots, eating and listening to music. A few of the men were standing around, serving them. "Strangers," the one who'd come to the Enterprise said, surprised. "Luma?"

"They are from another place," Luma said. "This is Elle, girl. These others are hers. Boys."

"Hello," Elle said. "Are you the leader? What is your name?"

"I am Kara," the woman said. "I am leader."

"It is nice to meet you," Elle said, feeling like she was speaking to her toddler cousin. _So not a huge stretch from talking to yourself_ , the tumblr part of her mind snarked. _Shh_. She refocused. "We have come from the same place as your new Controller."

Kara's interest sparked. "You are from very far."

"Yes, very far. We are from a place that does not use Controllers."

"No Controllers?" Kara asked.

"No. We, girls and boys, live and work together."

Kara wrinkled her nose.

"We are friends with the Controller," Elle said. "We need to see him. It. Him."

"No one is allowed to see the Controller," Kara retorted. "It is forbidden."

"We are friends," Elle repeated.

"It is forbidden."

Elle glanced up at the ceiling. "Spock, a little help here?"

"What do you require?" Spock asked.

"Tell them to bring us to you," Elle murmured.

Spock hummed and then spoke. "Kara, leader, bring the others, my friends, to me. Bring them to the Controller."

"Yes, Controller," Kara said, terrified and reverent. "Come with me." She led them to the Control Room.

Elle stared at the black box in the center. Spock's brain was _in that_. She shuddered.

"Spock?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, captain, I'm here."

Kirk frowned. "Spock, you're in a black box tied in with light rays into a complex control panel."

"Fascinating. And yet I know that I am breathing, pumping blood, maintaining an internal temperature."

M'Benga spoke up. "Is it possible that you're re-circulating air, running heating plants, purifying water?"

"Indeed, Doctor. That is unquestionably part of what I am doing."

"Fascinating," McCoy said, and then harrumphed irritably when Elle grinned at him.

"How do we get him out?" Kirk asked impatiently.

"You cannot take the Controller!" Kara shrieked. "He must stay!"

"He must not stay," Elle refuted.

**-/\\-**

Okay, watching brain surgery is not fascinating. Elle sat in the corner and tried to meditate. But the fact that brain surgery was literally happening six feet away from her made it impossible to be calm and clear-headed. She pulled out her PADD and started playing a puzzle game.

"Blue piece two down, three diagonal," Spock's voice said, over the speakers.

Elle jumped six inches off the cold floor and almost fell over. "Spock! For the love of the Great bird, _please_ do not do that."

He was definitely laughing. "Apologies," he drawled.

But he was right. She moved the puzzle piece down and over. "Hey, Spock?" she asked, since he apparently wasn't busy supervising his own brain surgery.

"Yes, Elle?"

"Is there a way to store the information in portable units?"

"Why do you ask?" Spock asked.

"Well once we put your brain back where it belongs, this place'll shut down, and these guys'll have nothing to teach them."

"Good point," Kirk said, coming over from his own waiting corner. "Let's go supply hunting, Elle."

Asking Kara didn't help, so Kirk, Scotty, and Elle poked around all the rooms they could get into. Nothing resembling portable teaching units, just a lot more server farms. "We should be able to rig a control interface that lets us keep this running at least for a few days," Scotty mused. "After that, it'll all go dark."

"There's so much information," Elle mourned. "This is like the Ancients all over again."

"What?"

"From the show I'm watching, there's this brainsucker, it's like the teaching device, bt it gives you _all_ the information. I think it's broken, in the show, or it'd be just like this one, but I don't know, because it's not like they give you a lexicon with the background information, but-" Elle stopped rambling. "Anyways."

"Anyways," Scotty echoed, smiling. "I think from what we've seen here, we can use units from the Enterprise and modify them to take soem of the information for the Morgs and the Eymorgs."

"Including equal rights?" Elle asked.

He snorted. "Including that, yes."

Now that they had a fix on the location, the Enterprise could talk to them. Scotty took charge, speaking to his 2IC and organizing supplies. Kirk and Elle went back to the Control Room, just in time to see McCoy's face go completely blank.

"I've lost it," he said, stepping away from Spock's motionless body. "All the information, it's just gone."

"That's okay," M'Benga said, stepping forward. "Excuse me, Doctor."

Bones moved aside and leaned against the wall.

Elle moved to his side. "You okay, Bones?" she asked.

Kirk grabbed the doctor's arm as Bones started to slide down. "Whoops, okay, sit down, Bones."

"I'm fine," Bones snapped crankily. "The mother of all headaches, but I'm fine. Losing all that information..."

"I look forward to the information withdrawal," M'Benga said dryly, his hands swift and sure as he continued to reconnect Spock's brain. "This is exhilirating and the most terrifying thing I've ever done."

"Amen," Bones muttered.

It took another two hours to finish the surgery. Spock lay there, unconscious but whole. "We need to get Spock back up to the Enterprise," M'Benga said. "There's a whole slew of neurological tests we need to run, and I need to start transcribing as much information as I can before we lose it."

"McCoy, you and M'Benga get Spock up to the surface, get back to the Enterprise. Elle, you too."

"But the girls," Elle protested.

"We'll get Uhura down here," Kirk said. "Don't worry. We can handle this."

"They're not gonna like it," Elle warned.

Kirk put his hands on her shoulders. "You saved Spock. You completed your mission. You need to let us handle the rest. Go back to the ship."

Elle gritted her teeth and sighed. "Yes, sir."

He kissed her forehead. "Thank you. Go on."

Elle and Martinez helped the two doctors wheel Spock through the corridors and into the elevator. "Are you sure he's okay?" Elle asked.

"He already woke up once and spoke, he's okay," McCoy assured her.

"Okay."

They beamed back up to the Enterprise and rushed Spock to medical. Elle followed at a slower pace.

"You injured?" Nurse Renner asked.

"Nope. Just got back with Dr. McCoy. I'm here for my post-mission exam."

Nurse Renner's jaw dropped. "You, came here, of your own volition?"

"It's the protocol, right?" Elle asked.

Nurse Renner motioned Elle to a biobed. "You get a sticker. Gold sticker. Possibly an award. Only person on this boat to ever actually follow protocol."

Elle giggled. "Well, if I didn't Bones and Chief Giotto would have my head. And my snack privileges."

Nurse Renner laughed. "Understandable. Well, you're fine medically. How do you feel?"

Elle glanced over at the private room where Spock was. "Nervous," she said.

Nurse Renner patted Elle's hand. "Understandable. Go have lunch and find someone to hug."

Elle smiled. "Is that a medical prescription?"

"Absolutely."

Elle hopped off the biobed. "Thanks." She dragged her feet towards the door. "I, can I..."

"I'm sure Dr. McCoy will give you news as soon as he has any," the nurse promised. "Go on, now."

Elle shuffled out of sickbay with a sigh. She ate lunch with a couple of lt's from engineering and made her way to the Rec Deck.

"Hey, Elle! Racquetball?"

"I just ate," Elle replied, waving the ops ensign off. "Thanks, though."

The ensign sat down next to her. "You okay?"

Elle put her head down on the table, resisting the urge to cry. "I wanna help and I can't," she said, voice smooshed into the table.

"Didn't you just come back from the planet with Mr. Spock?"

"Yeah."

"Then I think you've done plenty, don't you? You found Mr. Spock's _brain_."

"Well yeah, but they would've done that anyway," Elle complained.

Ensign Rialto laughed. "So? Anyone can do any job, but _you_ were the one that helped the captain do it. What are they doing now?"

"Evacuating the locals to the surface."

"See? You may be a tough little teen but I'm pretty sure the security officers are much beefier than you." Rialto gave her a hug. "You did what you were asked to do, and I'm positive that you went above and beyond, so you've got nothing to feel bad about. Just, bask in the glow of surviving another zany Enterprise mission."

Elle hugged him back. "Thanks," she said, her heart a little lighter.

"You are very welcome." He tapped her nose. "You fit in with the rest of us just fine, you overachiever, you."

She laughed.

It was still hard to wait, though. Elle wandered through the rec deck, taking invitations to play or relax, she wrote poetry with a couple of Uhura's people from Linguistics, and assisted in The Great Reconstruction of a pillow fort, torn down in the last crisis with the Klingons. It was bedtime, and still no word from either the captain or Bones. Elle went to her room, took a shower, and sat down to watch TV, Simba in her lap.

At 0034, the comm chimed.

"Elle here," she said, jumping on the comm and scaring poor Simba.

"Hey, Elle. Spock's okay. He's in a regular sleep now, and we need volunteers to monitor him." Bones sounded exhausted.

"I'm on my way." She tucked Simba under her arm and marched over to Sickbay.

"Good, you brought the fuzzball." McCoy tugged her towards a chair. "I just need three hours. Chris is on duty, if anything happens, holler."

"Cool." Elle watched him bustle out of sickbay and turned to look at Spock. He looked alive now, a slight green flush on his cheeks as he breathed.

Simba trilled peaceably and Spock turned towards the sound.

Elle plopped Simba next to Spock's elbow and the tribble burrowed into Spock's side, near his heart. Simba purred like an outboard motor, pleased as punch to be with its second-favorite person.

Elle watched them both.

**-/\\-**

"Elle, sweetheart?"

She sat upright, scrubbing her eyes. "Huh? Spock?" She glanced over. Spock was still asleep, Simba now in the curve of his neck and shoulder, still trilling. "Oh." She turned to look at the captain. "You're back."

He smiled at her. "We're back. We've finished evacuating the compound and helpin the Morgs set up their new combo civilization. They are very confused by being able to receive and retain their knowledge, but they seem to like it, the Morg especially."

"And the Eymorg?" Elle asked.

Kirk snorted. "They're just relieved to have indoor heating."

Elle laughed. "Nice." She stood up and stretched. Her spine gave a delightful rat-tat-tat of popping joints. "Ahhhh. Maybe once they get their civilization back up, they can go back to their compounds and retrieve all that knowledge."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Kirk said. "Maybe when you're older you can come back and check."

"Maybe," Elle said.

Kirk looked over at Spock and smothered a grin. "Pet therapy, Elle?"

"Tried and true," Elle retorted.

Simba noticed Kirk and started to wiggle away from Spock, chirping delightedly.

"Oh, no, you stay over there," Kirk said, flapping a hand at it.

Simba purred and went back to Spock.

"Simba likes you, though," Elle said, giving him puppy eyes.

"That Tribble can like me from over there," Kirk said, cracking a smile in spite of himself. "Go to bed, Elle, it's my turn to keep watch."

"Actually," Bones said, coming back into Sickbay, looking more like a night owl and less like an exhausted pigeon, "both of you can go to bed and get out of my sickbay. Thank you, Elle, for staying up. You, captain, can come back in the morning aftter you've had breakfast." He spotted Simba. "The tribble can stay."

Elle and Kirk walked back to their quarters. "Sleep well, captain," Elle said.

He hugged her. "Thank you, Elle. Good night."

**-/\\-**

The next morning, Elle had three new pictures on her computer monitor. They all featured a startled Spock with a tribble "staring" at him from a spot on his chest. Elle almost laughed herself sick, and promptly forwarded the pictures to Lady Amanda.

She skipped breakfast and went down to sickbay. Kirk was already there, telling Spock all about the Morg and Eymorg situation. Spock listened intently, petting Simba with his free hand as he sipped a mug of plomeek broth.

"Good morning," Elle said, poking her head in.

"Good morning," Kirk said, and waved her in.

Elle came to stand next to the bed. "How are you, Spock?"

"Better, now that I am in my own body," Spock replied. "It is very disconcerting to realize the differences only after the fact."

"So did you like it better, being in control of a compound instead of a body?" Elle asked.

"I did not," Spock decided, after a moment. "It was too, impersonal." He glanced down at the tribble. "You are here to pick up your tribble?"

"I mean, I don't have to," Elle replied, shrugging. "You can keep him if you want."

He stared down at the tribble for a moment.

"Actually, I have to go," Elle blurted, "I'm late for class, can you keep him? Thanks!" She turned on her heel and bolted out before Spock could reply.

McCoy caught her outside the door. "No running in sickbay," he scolded.

She froze. "Sorry."

He patted her arm. "Nice job, though." He winked at her and went into Spock's room.

Elle grinned. "Tribble love strikes again," she said dramatically, throwing her hands up.

One of Scotty's henchmen walked past and gave her a look.

Elle blushed. "Hi." She hustled away, hands in her pockets, still grinning.


	47. Kirk is a Jerk

"Captain? I have a question about-"

"Not now," he snapped.

Elle stopped in her tracks and stared after him, stunned. "Bones must've cut his caffeine consumption," she decided after a second, and left her question in favor of a video game with Sulu and the other pilots.

She saw the captain at lunch the next day. He scowled through his entire meal and downed _three_ cups of coffee in twenty minutes. Elle decided whoever wrote 'discretion is the better part of valor' was a genius. "Is it quarter evals or something?" she asked Lt. Martine.

Martine shook her head. "That was last month. Maybe he just needs a vacation." She stretched her neck. "We all do, don't we, cherie?"

"Oui," Elle agreed, which was the extent of her French vocabulary, besides, "hon hon baguette."

The day after that, it was literature time. Hopefully some Sherlock Holmes would be calming. Elle opened the story and got ahead, just to see what was going to happen.

Kirk never came. Yeoman Rand came instead, fifteen minutes later. "Sorry, sweetheart, the captain can't make it tonight."

Elle stared at her, dismayed. "What, why not?"

Rand sighed, and that told you a lot about the state of the universe of the yeomen were sighing irritably. "Never you mind," she said, and gave Elle a hug.

Elle hugged her tightly. "Maybe he's hormonal?" Elle suggested.

Rand snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised." She kissed Elle's cheek. "I don't have time myself, but Yeoman Davdison is a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, if you'd like to go rustle him out of his hidey hole in Logistics. He's off-shift in five minutes."

"Sure," Elle said, dragging herself out of the comfy chair.

Logistics was in the depths of Operations offices, where all the huge schedules took virtual form and all shifts were coordinated. Every time someone traded shifts with someone else, and everytime there was a call for different specialists, all these things were routed through Logistics and kept up to date. If there was an onboard invasion, this is where the security teams would be route from, depending on where they were. It was cool, watching all all the biosigns flit about the giant virtual tank. It figured, that whoever worked here had to have Sherlockian levels of observation.

"Um, excuse me, Yeoman Davidson?"

He craned his neck out of his giant ergonomic chair. "Elle?"

"Yeah. Hi. Um, Captain Kirk isn't available to do my literature lesson with me, so... it's Sherlock Holmes, and Yeoman Rand said..."

"I would love to read Sherlock Holmes with you," he said.

Elle smiled, relieved. "Cool."

**-/\\-**

"Good morning, captain-"

"No."

Elle watched this interaction with dread. That was not normal captainly behavior. He was being a _jerk_ , and even if he was in a terrible bad mood, he wouldn't take it out on his crew. On Spock and Bones, maybe, but not random ensigns.

She went over to where Uhura and Scotty were having a not-date. "Hey."

"Hey, sugar," Uhura said, squeezing her in a side hug. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Confused," Elle said, glancing in the direction of the bridge.

Scotty gave her a sympathetic look. "Aye, lass. I think we're all of us getting to that point, tired-wise."

Elle chewed on her lip. "Should I ask him?"

Both officers grimaced. "I don't think you should poke the bear, sweetheart," Uhura said. "Let Mr. Spock handle it."

"He's just sitting there and taking it," Elle pointed out.

"True," Scotty said. "This wouldn't happen to be an episode, lass?"

"I don't know," Elle said, tilting her head. "I don't think so, but, maybe? I'll think about it."

"Do that, and get back to us, but don't worry about it," Uhura said. "Captain Kirk is a grown man who can manage his own emotions. You just focus on your own tasks, all right?"

"Okay." Elle sat with them to finish breakfast and went on her way to class. Was this an episode?

That evening she decided to seriously think about it. Thinking led to meditation, and she figured Spock would be pleased she was taking the logical approach to order her thoughts. She counted off adventures in her head. If Spock's Brain was last then what was next? Romulans, right? But they weren't anywhere near Romulan space.

"How did that episode go again?" she asked Simba.

The tribble trilled peacably.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. _Neutral zone, awesome Romulan commander with the hots for Spock, Kirk fake-dies, he comes back with the ears..._ Wait a second. How did they get to the Romulan Neutral Zone in the first place?

Elle's eyes widened as she realized the answer. "Simba," she whispered in a hushed tone. "That's now. This is now. This is happening now. He's building up his craziness on orders. He's not really going nuts."

Simba feigned surprise.

"What do I do?" she hissed, tugging at her hair in frustration. "Should I say something? Should I not say anything? I have to say something, I can't not. That way he knows this is an episode. Right?"

Simba didn't offer an opinion.

"Right?" Elle asked, poking at it gently.

Simba wiggled.

"Right," Elle said firmly. She pulled her shoes on and marched down to Captain Kirk's quarters. She rang the chime.

"Enter," he snapped.

She entered cautiously and stood at faux parade rest.

His back was to her as he worked on the computer. "Bones, if you try and foist any more headache pills on me, I'm going to-"

"Uh, captain," Elle interrupted him.

He stopped abruptly and he turned around. "What is it?" he asked, wary.

She cleared her throat. "I know what you're doing," she said.

"And what am I doing?" he asked in that mild, even tone that all mothers and starship captains had, the one that said you would be getting a time-out if you stepped over the line.

Elle stepped over the line. "Cloaking device," she said.

He lost all color in his face. "You should not know about this," he said stiffly, and scrubbed both hands over his eyes. "You _really_ should not about that."

"It's an episode, I can't help it," Elle replied.

His jaw worked silently as he regarded her. "That's why you had me speak to Cale," he said.

"Yes, sir."

He sighed, deep enough to exhale all the tension in his frame. He folded his arms and regarded her with a crooked smile. "I should've known you'd catch on sooner or later," he said, and held out an arm. "C'mere."

She hugged him gratefully.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm sorry for bailing on our literature lesson," he said. "Who'd you read with?"

"Ensign Davidson in Logistics," Elle said. "He's a fan."

Kirk huffed a laugh. "That figures." He smiled at her. "So. What are we going to do about you knowing the most highly-classified mission that the Enterprise has received to date? We'll have to let Spock know you know, of course," he said, folding his arms and tapping his chin with his fist.

"I'll just pretend I don't know," Elle said.

"You're going to have to," he said. "If anything goes wrong, Star Fleet has to have complete plausible deniability." He frowned. "And if we don't make it out of there, if the Enterprise really does get captured and we go through prisoner intake..." he grimaced. "You cannot be in the hands of the Romulans."

Elle's eyes widened.

"I might have to send you to my parents, after all," he said.

"No!" she exclaimed. "It all works out, we get the thing. You don't have to send me away."

Kirk frowned at her. "Elle, this is serious. Do you know what would happen if they discovered you?"

Elle wrapped her arms around her midsection protectively. "They'd probably use a mind-sifter and take everything I know out of my brain and use it to bring down the Federation, the Klingons, and everyone else in this galaxy."

"Exactly," he said grimly. "I cannot allow that to happen to you."

"This is a top secret urgent mission, though, you can't just reroute for me," Elle protested.

"I can, and I will," he said. "A cloaking device is one thing, knowledge of the future supersedes that." He shook his head. "No. I've decided. You're going to have to go somewhere else during the rest of this mission."

Elle scowled. Trying to change James T. Kirk's mind once he'd made a decision was useless, and she knew it. "Fine," she said. "Where are you sending me?"

In answer he went to the bathroom and knocked on the adjoining door. "Hey, Spock, join us for a moment?" he said, at normal volume.

Spock entered the room a few seconds later. "Captain, Elle," he greeted.

"She knows, Spock," Kirk said, giving him a significant look.

Spock's eyebrows went up. "This is an episode?"

"Yeah."

"That is concerning," Spock said.

"Well, it is spies and drama," Elle said. "Great episode material."

Spock looked unimpressed. "Considering the depths of operational security, I cannot see this ever being unclassified."

"Wait till we become allies," Elle said dryly. "All kinds of fun stuff comes out."

Both men looked alarmed. "Moving on," Kirk said, after a moment, "Elle cannot be in Romulan space, we need to figure out where to place her for the duration of this mission."

"Starbase 67 is in a stable place, and has a competent commander," Spock said, after a second.

"Merely competent?" Kirk asked, a smile quirking his lips.

"Starbases are not usually given to dynamic commanders," Spock replied primly.

Elle grinned to herself.

"We could, of course, send Elle to Earth, or to my parents on Vulcan," Spock said. "My mother would probably be thrilled to host you."

"That'd take weeks," Elle said. "I'd get there and have to come right back."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Kirk asked. "You could have a break on Earth or Vulcan for a while and meet up with us later."

Elle glared at him.

He laughed. "Okay, we won't do that. You think you could handle three weeks on a starbase?"

"Do they have wifi?"

"Yes."

Elle gave him a thumbs-up. "Then I'm good."

"All right. We'll swing by 67 and get you set up, and then go back to our general heading." Kirk frowned. "I migth be able to spin this for the act."

"I don't like it," Elle said.

"I know. Me either. But the crew has to have complete deniability as well," Kirk said, frowning. He rubbed at his forehead. "They're Star Fleet officers. They'll understand."

Elle sighed. "I guess."

He wrapped an arm around her. "You know if I do snap at you, it's not real, right?"

"I know."

"Good. Thank you."

She mustered up a smile. "Yeah."

He ruffled her hair. "Now go on and pack for your mini-vacation."

"Yes, sir. Night. Night, Spock."

"Sleep well," they chorused.

Elle went back to her quarters. "Well," she told Simba, "I was responsible, and it backfired horribly. I have to go somewhere else while you guys get all the fun." She went to bed. "I'll pack in the morning."

0800, chime at the door.

Elle dragged herself out of bed. "Enter," she called.

Kirk came in, looking murderous. "Star Fleet said no," he said. "You have to stay, or apparently the Romulans will get suspicious."

Elle stifled a yawn into her sleeve. "So don't pack?"

"Don't pack," he confirmed. "You're stuck here."

She patted him on the arm. "Don't worry, you're a great actor. It's gonna go fine."

"I hope you're right."

**-/\\-**

"So?"

Elle looked up at Uhura's expectant gaze. "Huh?"

"So is this an episode?" Uhura asked.

Elle blanched. "Uhhhhhhh..." She took a heaping spoonful of oatmeal. "I don't really recognize it," she mumbled through her food apologetically. True, from a certain point of view. Ish.

"Oh." Uhura sighed. "So it's something else."

Elle shrugged. "Sorry I can't tell you anything."

"It's not your fault."

**-/\\-**

The next week was torture. "I don't like keeping secrets," Elle complained, as she and Spock met for meditation practice.

"It is regrettable that you have had to take part in this," Spock said, frowning. "However, it does mean that the crew will be safe from questioning."

"I know," Elle said, and sighed. "Okay, enough complaining. I'm ready."

Spock placed his hands at her temples. "Tonight we will work on strengthening your mental shields, in anticipation of our mission."

"You think something's gonna happen?" Elle asked.

"Consider the odds," Spock told her.

"Good point."

**-/\\-**

With excellent timing, Elle managed to be on the bridge speaking to Sulu about botany when the captain gave the order to cross into the neutral zone.

Elle stiffened as the tension ratcheted up a thousand percent.

"Sir," Sulu said cautiously. "Now entering Romulans space."

Scotty came onto the bridge and went over to Uhura. "Lieutenant, when did the order come through?"

"Order?"

"From Starfleet. The order to enter the Neutral Zone."

Uhura shook her head. "There's been no order I know of, Mister Scott."

Scotty gaped. "Surely the Captain couldn't be doing this on his own authority." They both turned and looked at Elle.

She grimaced at them and held her hands up.

"If you two have complaints, you can bring them out into the open," Kirk snapped.

The red alert began to whoop as a ship entered visual range. "Is that a Klingon ship?" Scotty asked. "But it couldn't be, not in this area."

"The Romulans are buying Klingon ships," Elle told him.

Kirk turned to look at her sharply. "Cut the chatter," he snapped. "Sound Red Alert. Man battle stations. Stand by main phasers."

"A second ship has appeared," Spock reported. "Correction, there are now three. We are surrounded."

Elle stood, frozen, staring at the three ships on screen. She didn't want to leave and miss seeing the Romulans, but she didn't want to be seen, eiter. She sidled over to the aux engineering and other aux consoles, safely out of camera pickup range.

"Captain Kirk, I'm receiving a class two signal from the Romulan vessel," Uhura reported.

The viewscreen lit up with the Romulan subcommander's face. "You have been identified as the star ship Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk last known to be in command."

Elle watched as Kirk played the arrogant nonchalant commander.

"You have one hour," Tal repeated, and he cut the channel.

"One hour," Kirk repeated. "Scotty, Spock, McCoy to the briefing room." He, Spock, and Scotty left.

Sulu moved into the command chair. "Elle," he said. "What's going on?"

Elle just raised her hands. "Romulans?" she said, grimacing. "Sorry."

They were only in there for five minutes before Uhura's console beeped. "Bridge to Captain Kirk. The Romulan lead vessel is signalling again, sir."

Kirk, Spock, and Scotty came back to the bridge. "Put him on," Kirk said, plopping into his chair.

"The commander wishes to see you and your first officer aboard this vessel," Tal said. "It is felt this matter requires discussion."

"Why should we walk right into your hands?" Kirk retorted.

"Two of my officers will beam aboard your vessel as exchange hostages while you are here." Tal raised an eyebrow. "The commander also wishes to meet your daughter. You will bring her."

Everyone on the bridge froze. Elle's eyes widened and she stared across the bridge at Captain Kirk. She wasn't in camera range, _how did they know_?

Kirk's face expressed surprise for only a fraction of a second. "I don't have a daughter," he replied. "Your intelligence is faulty."

Tal seemed amused. "You don't have a daughter?" He smirked. "Then you single-handedly convinced your fleet to allow a civilian minor on your ship as a constant presence for what reason?"

That was so classified. Oh, people were gonna be fired left and right if they survived this. Elle swallowed her nerves. _Not good, not good._

Kirk stayed silent.

"You will bring her with you," Tal said. "Or we _will_ send across boarding parties. We want your ship. Your crew, we don't need."

"What does your commander want with the girl?" Kirk asked sharply.

"Curiosity," Tal replied. "And, as a bargaining chip. You wouldn't do anything, rash, while she was on an enemy ship, would you captain?"

Kirk visibly fumed for a moment. "What security can you offer me for the girl's safety?" he asked.

Tal sobered. "We value the lives of our children," he said sharply. "She will not be harmed."

Elle could practically _see_ the cogs turning in the captain's mind. _I'll be fine_ , she said silently.

"Come, captain, you are the ones who violated our territory. Should it not be we who distrust your motives? However, we agree to simultaneous exchange."

Kirk set his jaw. "Give us your transporter co-ordinates. We're beaming aboard."

Tal nodded, and the channel closed.

"Sir, you cannot allow Elle into Romulan hands," Spock said urgently.

"I made my decision," Kirk barked. "Elle, you're with us."

She moved over to stand with Kirk and Spock.

"Sir," Scotty protested.

"Your protest will be noted in the log," Kirk told him. "Let's go."

They got in the turbolift, everyone frowning. Elle tried not to hyperventilate. This was _not_ how this was supposed to go. She took a deep breath and tried to remember what Spock had said about reinforcing her mental shields.

Scotty rushed ahead of them to prepare the transporter personally. Kirk snagged Elle's elbow and slowed them down. "I'm sorry," he said, "there's no way around it if we want this to go the way we planned. I need you to be very brave and _very_ careful, understand? You're thirteen, you don't know anything about Romulans, you hear me?"

Elle nodded. She was too terrified to be scared.

"Good. First thing, I'm going to try and get them to send you back to the Enterprise. If that doesn't work..."

"I'll play the tantrum card?" Elle suggested. "They don't have space to keep bratty teenagers."

"Stay with Spock, if anything happens," Kirk ordered.

"Yes, sir." She mustered up a brave smile. "It's gonna be okay."

He gave her a quick smile, and they entered the transporter room. "One final order, Engineer Scott. If we do not return, the Enterprise must not be taken. If the Romulans attempt it, you're to fight, and if necessary, destroy yourselves. Is that clear?"

Scotty nodded. "Perfectly clear."

"Energize."

The world faded in and out with a sparkle, and Elle was standing in a Romulan warbird.


	48. Incidentally, Romulans

Elle stayed between Kirk and Spock as they were escorted to a set of quarters. The Romulan commander swiveled in her chair and stood to greet them. She was beautiful. Fierce, as the kids say. The commander's eyes flickered over Spock and Elle and came to rest on Kirk. "Captain Kirk."

"Commander," he said. "I'm honoured."

"I don't think so, but we have an important matter to discuss. And your superficial courtesies are an overture to that discussion." She sent Spock outside with the two guards. "The matter of trespass into Romulan space is one of galactic import, a violation of treaties. Now I ask you simply, what is your mission here?"

"Instrument failure caused navigational error. We were across the Neutral Zone before we realized it, then we were surrounded by your ships before we could get back."

Elle resisted glancing up at him. That was _terrible_ acting, and from their last reading of The Importance of Being Earnest, the captain was a _great_ actor. She kept her gaze on the commander's desk as the two ship commanders circled around the topic of espionage-or-not.

"Your daughter is well-trained," the commander said.

Elle's gaze snapped up to her warily.

"Don't fear me, child, you are safe here," the commander said. "Safer than you probably were on the famous flagship."

"I don't think so," Elle said politely.

The commander's mouth quirked in a smile and she turned towards the door to call Spock in. "The captain has made his statement," she said.

"I understand," Spock said gravely.

"I must admit some surprise on seeing you, Spock. We were not aware of Vulcans aboard the Enterprise."

Oh, yeah. She had the hots for the Vulcan. Elle forced down a nervous giggle.

"Starfleet is not in the habit of informing Romulans of its ships' personnel," Spock said mildly.

"Quite so. Yet there are certain ships, certain officers, that are known to us. Your situation appears most interesting."

"What earns Spock your special interest?" Kirk asked sharply.

"He is a Vulcan. Our forebears had the same roots and origins. Something you wouldn't understand, Captain. We can appreciate the Vulcans, our distant brothers. I have heard of Vulcan integrity and personal honour. There's a well-known saying, or is it a myth, that Vulcans are incapable of lying?"

"It is no myth," Spock said.

"Then tell me truthfully now, by your honour as a Vulcan, what was your mission?"

Elle's head snapped back and forth as the Romulan commander and Spock traded insults and compliments, the tennis match strangely compelling. It was definitely the ears.

"We've been all through that, Commander!" Kirk said, cutting Spock off.

"We have not even begun! There's no force that I can use on a Vulcan that will make him speak. That is a fact. But there are Romulan methods completely effective against humans and human weaknesses."

Spock looked disdainful. "You would not resort to them, Commander. They would prove ineffective against the captain."

"Then they will leave him dead, or what might be worse than dead. But I will know your unspoken truths." She raised an eyebrow. "Would you leave this child without a father?"

Elle's eyes widened. Using her as emotional blackmail, nice. Very good. She resisted a golf clap. Distantly, she wondered if she shouldn't be more worried about this. _I should probably talk to McCoy. I think I might have some form of trauma._ She snorted silently.

Spock frowned. "I cannot allow the captain to be further destroyed. The strain of command has worn heavily upon him. He's not been himself for several weeks."

"Is this true?" the commander asked Elle, even as Kirk protested.

Elle nodded silently.

"As you can see, Captain Kirk is a highly sensitive and emotional person. I believe he has lost the capacity for rational decision," Spock said calmly.

"Shut up, Spock!"

"I'm betraying no secrets. The commander's suspicion that Starfleet ordered the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone is unacceptable. Our rapid capture demonstrates its foolhardiness."

Elle edged closer to Spock as Kirk howled, "You filthy liar!"

"I am speaking the truth for the benefit of the Enterprise and the Federation. I say now and for the record, that Captain Kirk ordered the Enterprise across the Neutral Zone on his own initiative and his craving for glory."

Elle cringed away as Kirk overacted his way into hysteria.

The Romulan commander looked satisfied as Captain Kirk was subdued by security officers. "Tal, open a channel to the Enterprise. Attention, Enterprise, I am speaking to you from the Romulan flagship. The USS Enterprise, under command of Captain James T. Kirk, is formally charged with espionage. The testimony of First Officer Spock was highly instrumental in confirming this intrusion into Romulan space was not an accident. First Officer Spock's testimony was specific that your ship was not under orders from Starfleet Command or the Federation council to perform such a spy mission. It was Captain Kirk who was solely responsible. Since the crew had no choice but to obey orders, the crew will not be held responsible. Therefore, I am ordering Engineer Scott, presently in command of the Enterprise, to follow the Romulan flagship to our home base. You will there be processed and released to Federation Command. Until judgment is passed, Captain Kirk will be held in confinement."

Elle watched, wide-eyed, as Kirk was dragged out.

"What is your name, child?" the Romulan commander asked her.

"Eleanor Wilcott," Elle said, at a nod from Spock.

"And what do you know about the Romulan people?" the commander continued.

Elle clasped her hands in front of her. "You're related to the Vulcans, from the time of Surak. You share the same concept of honor and truth. The good ones, I mean."

"The good ones?" the Romulan commander asked.

"There are good and bad people in everyone culture," Elle told her.

"Wise words for one so young," the commander said, approvingly. "Spock is in charge of your education?"

"Some of it," Elle said.

"And why are you onboard the Enterprise instead of safe on your homeworld?"

Elle's scowl was real. "I lost my parents on my homeworld. It's not safe anywhere, so I might as well have adventures before I die." All true, eh? Eh? She was getting pretty good at this.

"So Captain Kirk is not your father," the commander mused.

"No, ma'am," Elle said.

"So they use orphans now, as test subjects," the commander continued, scowling in disgust.

Elle bit her tongue. "They're my family," she blurted, unable to let it stand. "Captain Kirk, and Mr. Spock, and, I wanted to stay with them. It's my choice to stay here. I wanna see the galaxy."

The commander's eyes softened. "I see." She gestured to the computer at her desk. "This is your chance, then. What do you wish to know about Romulan history or culture?" She pulled up a historical database. "Go ahead. Spock and I have things to discuss."

Elle shared a glance with Spock and he nodded. She sat down at the desk and one of the security officers took up a post behind her. _Nobody puts baby in the corner_ , Elle grumbled silently, but the temptation of knowledge was too strong, and she opened the database. _Gotta take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,_ she reasoned.

She soaked in as much information as possible until the Romulan commander and Spock came back. They both looked solemn. Too solemn. "What's going on?" Elle asked warily.

"The captain," Spock said, and faltered.

The Romulan commander spoke. "Captain Kirk is dead."

Elle froze. "What?" she said, numbly. She'd forgotten about this part. "You, you said you wouldn't do anything to him, you promised-"

"He attacked Spock," the Romulan commander said gently. "He had no choice but to defend himself."

"Dr. McCoy has already beamed back with the body," Spock said.

Elle just kept staring. How was she suppose to react? "I wanna go home," she said suddenly. "Please. I wanna go back to the Enterprise."

The commander nodded and waved forward the guard. "Send her back to the Enterprise."

Elle followed the Romulan guard back to the transporter room and they beamed her back onto the Enterprise.

Scotty met her in the transporter room. "Lass," he said, his expression devastated.

Elle couldn't lie to him, so she just looked at him. "I have to do my post-mission physical," she said.

He followed her out. "Do ye know what's going on, lass?"

Elle shook her head. "I don't know. They sent me back."

"The captain's dead, Elle," Scotty said, his tone more gentle than she'd ever heard it.

"No," Elle said firmly. "He can't be." A shiver of fear inched its way up her spine. He wasn't actually dead, right?

Scotty sighed. "You go on to Medical, lass." He walked away.

Elle booked it to Sickbay and skidded to a stop inside the main ward. "Where's Bones?" she asked Chapel.

Chapel's eyes were red. "He's in his office," she said. "Elle, are you okay?"

"Bones, I just wanna see Bones," Elle said stubbornly, edging around her. She entered McCoy's office without knocking and closed the door behind her. "Bones!"

"Elle!" He rounded the desk and grabbed her shoulders gently. "Are you all right? Do you know what's going on?"

"Yeah," Elle said. "He's not really dead, is he?"

"No, just very, very unconscious," McCoy said. "He'll wake up in another twenty minutes or so with a beautiful migraine but he'll be fine."

Elle sagged in relief and leaned forward to hug McCoy tightly. "Oh, good," she said, into his shoulder. "I was worried for a minute, there."

"I cannot believe they used you in their little covert mission," McCoy said, leaning back to look her over. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Me going over there was not planned, _at all_ , but I did learn some cool stuff about Romulan history so that's neat." Elle let him run scans.

"Well, it did you no harm," McCoy said. "All right. Go on, Elle. This is still highly classified, so don't go spilling the beans, all right?"

"Yes, doctor," Elle said. "I think I'm gonna go hide in my quarters."

"Good idea."

Elle left sickbay and went straight to her quarters. She took Simba out of its biodome and hugged it tightly. "Let's never do espionage," Elle said, flopping backwards on her bed. "I'm not good at it."

The plan was to stay in her quarters until either Kirk or Spock announced they were back in Federation space, but only forty minutes later, Elle's stomach started to growl.

"No way," Elle told her midsection. "We're staying put."

It growled again.

Elle sighed. If something unexpected happened and she was running on an empty stomach, reaction times would be slow, thinking ability impaired... McCoy's lecture on blood sugar came back to her in full force. "Fine," she said, putting Simba back in its home. "Mess hall, here we come. Don't mess this up, Elle."

The atmosphere in the mess hall hit Elle like a lead fist in the gut. Everyone present looked half-dead themselves, stricken with grief and worry. They all turned to look at Elle in various stages of worry and disbelief.

"Is it true?" Lt. Riley asked Elle, stopping her at the food slot.

"Um, I'm not allowed to say anything," Elle said, clutching her meal card to her chest. "I'm sorry."

He stepped back, defeated.

Elle ordered a hot dog and milkshake. If they were going to be prisoners of war, she was going out on a stomach full of junk food. She inhaled her food as quietly as possible and tried to leave without attracting attention.

Three Macgyver episodes later, Kirk's voice announced over all-call, "All hands, this is the captain. As you may have heard by now, reports of my death were, premature. We have returned to Federation space, heading for Starbase 67. Kirk out."

Elle released a stormy sigh of relief and lay down flat on the floor to breathe for a minute. "Thank goodness," she said. She headed down to sickbay.

Kirk was just entering at the same time. "You all right?" he asked, checking her over.

Elle couldn't stop staring at his ears. She started to laugh.

"It's not funny," he protested.

Elle cackled. "It is, too," she wheezed, clutching at her ribs.

McCoy grinned as he came over. "Your ears are top priority," he assured the captain, sniggering behind his tricorder.

Kirk, dare she say, pouted. "Anyway," he said, glaring as McCoy tugged at his ears, "Elle, the Romulan commander is in quarters on deck two, so stay away from there, understood?"

Elle stopped laughing. "What?"

"She beamed aboard at the last second with Spock. A fool thing to do, but we're dropping her, and the cloaking device, at 67."

Elle's jaw dropped. "Ohhh, I forgot about that."

"Seems a pretty important thing to forget about," Kirk said mildly.

"What's going to happen to her?" Elle asked.

"She'll be extradited back to the Romulans," Kirk replied.

That's what starts the Rihannsu book series, right? "She'll be stripped of her rank, her honor, her _name_ ," Elle said, all the light-hearted feelings draining away.

"She knew what she was doing," Kirk said tiredly.

Elle bit her lip. "I guess. We can't just, keep her?"

"That's unethical," Kirk said.

"Oh."

"All done," McCoy said. "Presenting, the original Captain Kirk, better than new."

"I still have a headache," Kirk complained.

"Go to sleep," McCoy advised.

"Excellent suggestion," Kirk deadpanned.

Elle gave him a hug. "I'm really glad you're okay. Let's never do that again."

Kirk hugged her tightly and smiled at her. "Agreed."


	49. Honor and Principles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter to round off the arc

"Can I see her?"

Kirk sighed. "What could you possibly have to talk about with the commander that won't blow your cover, Elle?"

"There's some stuff I read about history and culture and I need to know that stuff if My Enemy, My Ally ever happens, which it will, because this has happened, and I want to talk to her because she's _coo_ l," Elle replied, and gave him puppy eyes. "Please?"

"Take someone with you," Kirk said tiredly. "Not Spock."

"Nice!"

Elle bribed security officer Martinez into coming with her to speak with the commander.

The commander looked tired. "You shouldn't be here, child."

"I can go if you want," Elle offered. "I just wanted to come talk."

"I will not be interrogated by a child," she snapped.

"No ma'am," Elle said. "I wanted to talk about the cultural things that I read about. Do you have a few minutes?" She waited a second and added, "My name is Elle, by the way."

"Ria," the commander offered.

Elle bowed her head. "Nice to meet you."

Ria's eyes narrowed. "You know the importance of sharing names in your Earth culture?"

Elle shook her head. "Not really in modern human culture. But Vulcan names are like that, and I know Romulans names are the same."

"Rihannsu," Ria corrected. "Enough with your anglicization," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," Elle said, relieved.

Ria sat down gracefully. "What do you wish to know?"

"There was a concept mentioned in one of your myths, um, mneh-ih-sah-hey?" Elle grimaced as she mangled the word. "Sorry. "Vulcan and Rihannsu phonemes are similar but I'm still working on sight-reading."

Ria laughed. "Almost. Mnei'sahe," she said.

Elle repeated it slowly. "Right. Um, love?"

"That is a part of it, yes. It is like," Ria hummed thoughtfully. "Like, the type of love that moves someone to give their enemy their last drop of water, or the kind of love that prompts one to betray their wicked king. The kind of love that rules the true sense of honor."

Elle nodded slowly. "So a love based on principles?"

"Something like that, yes."

Elle bit her lip. "Hold on, there is a word for that... um, I think it's Greek? Agape. It's an old language, I think."

"So you do know what we are," Ria said. "Or at least you did at one time."

Elle nodded silently. "Why did you come back with Spock?" she asked.

Ria looked out the window for a long second. "Captain Kirk and I are mere starship commanders, pawns in the universe of politics. We play the roles we are assigned."

"You knew about this?" Elle asked.

"Not in so many words," Ria said. "Captain Kirk risked his life and his sanity for his duty. I have sacrificed my reputation and my supposed honor for mine."

"Supposed honor?" Elle echoed.

"Supposed," Ria said, a wry smile on her lips. "Tell me, Elle, what would happen if the Federation did not have this cloaking device now?"

"The Rihannsu would invade," Elle said.

"Yes. It would destabilize both the Federation and the Empire, as the senators in charge of the empire are greedy hogs. They would go too fast, too soon, and be unable to keep their gains. The Federation would retaliate swiftly and with extreme prejudice, would it not?"

Elle shrugged. "Probably."

"And instead, the Federation have the cloaking device. We know they do, so the technology becomes moot, until it advances again, and then it starts all over again."

"Were you ordered to let it go?" Elle asked.

"No."

"Mnei'sahe made you give it up?" Elle guessed. "Love for your people, not the annoying ones, but the ones who would die in the war."

Ria nodded.

"Thank you for your sacrifice," Elle said solemnly.

Ria waved a hand. "Go on, now, child. You have better things to do than consort with the enemy."

Elle hesitated. "When you get back to Rihan space, they're not going to kill you, are they?"

"No. I will be cashiered out of the fleet and lose my names." She said it with calm resignation.

Elle hovered in the doorway. "Can I, do you want me to, to keep your name?"

"Do you know the gravity of what you ofer, child?"

Elle bit her lip. "I don't think I could know, I'm not Rihannsu, but, your family won't be allowed to do that, and someone should."

Ria tilted her head. "Remember me well," was all she said.

Elle bowed with a fist over her chest and exited the commander's quarters. She thanked Martinez for escorting her and went back to her own quarters. She wrote 'Ria' in the nicest cursive she could manage, and stored the slip of paper in amongst her paper books. Not exactly a name pennant, not in Rihannsu script, but it was something.

"You all right?" Uhura asked her later.

"Why do we have to be enemies with anybody?" Elle asked, moving her spinach around on her plate.

Uhura sighed. "That's a complicated question if there ever was one."

"Never mind."

Elle didn't go see Ria again. It wasn't her place.


	50. The Magic Words of Asteroid-Killing

Another day, another away team livestream from the comfort of the bridge. "Better than Youtube," Elle said conversationally, as they watched the small anthropology and security contingent scout the planet.

"Youtube," Kirk said. "That's the one with the videos?"

Elle gave him a thumbs-up.

"That planet looks like paradise," Kirk said wistfully, as the security team meandered through a meadow, two-thirds of a way to frolicking.

"Very nearly, captain," Spock said, his head in his scanner. "It's incredibly similar to Earth, one might almost say a perfect copy."

"What are the odds on such duplication?"

"Astronomical, Captain. The relative size, age and composition of this planet makes it highly improbable that it would evolve similarly to Earth in any way."

"Thrice is enemy action," Kirk said slowly. "Elle, any chance this is the Aegis at play again?"

Elle shook her head. "I don't know yet. I need more context."

On screen, the anthropology team rounded a copse of trees and came upon a metallic obelisk. "What is _that_?" one of the anthropology nerds asked eagerly, moving forward.

Elle yelped and grabbed at Kirk's arm. "Ohhhh, wait, wait, I know this episode. We need to beam them back before somebody says the magic words."

"What?"

"That obelisk reacts to, um, communicators. No. Musical notes. Something. That causes amnesia." Elle bounced on her toes. "We need to beam them back before anybody triggers the thing."

Kirk nodded and poked the comm button on his chair. "Transporter room, we're recalling our away team. Beam them back immediately from their present positions."

"Aye, captain."

On-screen, the away team let out yelps of surprise as they were beamed up mid-sentence. The video stream cut off. There was a hail from the transporter room. "What's the big idea?" the anthro nerd asked plaintively and added, "sir?"

"That obelisk contains alien machinery and is still active, possibly hostile," Kirk replied crisply. "Apologies for cutting your mission short, gentlebeings. Standby for further information."

"Aye, sir."

Kirk turned to Elle. "All right," he said, "how does that thing cause amnesia?"

"It's an obelisk that belongs to the Preservers, who I think are the parents of the Aegis, um, so it is related? But it's a language based on musical tones, so in the show, you, Spock, and Bones go down-"

"Thus violating every single safety protocol in the books," Spock murmured, radiating sheer disbelief at the illogical-ness of human entertainment.

Elle ignored him. He said that every time. "-And you say 'Kirk to Enterprise', and get into the obelisk. Something zaps you and you lose your memory. You get out somehow and find the natives. Then there's a whole thing, where you're living with them, and Spock has to go try and divert the asteroid-"

"Speaking of which, we can only remain in orbit another ten minutes," Sulu reminded them.

"-But it doesn't work, and it doesn't need to, because the obelisk thing _is_ an asteroid diverter," Elle finished triumphantly. "So you go back in and push buttons based on the musical notes and divert the asteroid and it's all very sad. I mean exciting."

"Why is it sad?" Kirk asked.

"It's not," Elle said, giving him a wide smile. "You save a planet. That's not sad."

"Elle?"

She couldn't lie to the captain. "What's the first thing a Jim Kirk would do when relieved of all burdens of command?" she asked him, instead, trying to use what Spock called the Socratic method.

His eyebrows knit together. "Oh."

"Yeah."

He shrugged. "I'd really prefer not to have amnesia, so, Mr. Spock? As Chief Science Officer, how would you like to proceed?"

Spock looked at Elle. "Does the obelisk still work?"

"It still works," Elle replied confidently.

He quirked an eyebrow. "In percentages, how confident are you?"

Elle chewed on her lip. "Well, it's a Preserver artifact, and those things work for _ever_ , and the fact that there hasn't been an asteroid strike for at least the last five hundred years even though this planet's in the plane for it, I'd say... ninety-five percent?"

Spock's eyebrow went all the way up. "And if we stay here and we are not able to interpret the obelisk's controls? What plan of action do you suggest?"

"Well, tractor beaming it won't work, because we already won't get there in time like in the show," Elle said. "And if we have..."

"Fifty-eight days," Sulu supplied.

"Fifty-eight days to come up with a solution..." Elle squinched her face into a scowl, racking her brain for related events. "We can change the gravitational constant of the universe?"

Spock's other eyebrow went up. "We cannot," he said severely.

Elle huffed. "No, that's just the, there was an episode like that, where they had to divert an asteroid, or a planetoid or something, and Q said to change the gravitational constant of the unvierse, but Geordi, the Enterprise, they did something with the warp field, and changed the gravity of the moon or something, and kinda looped it out and around the planet."

"Spock?" Kirk asked, deadpan.

"Plausible," Spock said, nodding slowly.

"And if that doesn't work we can just blow it up!" Elle said blithely. "And then the phaser crews can play whack-a-mole with the leftover bits. Coupla' torpedos oughta do it."

Sulu and Chekov broke into identical coughing fits.

"Well there is that," Kirk said, covering his mouth with his hand. "You don't think the natives would be confused by the resulting meteor showers and bursts of light in the sky?"

Elle turned to give him a Look. "You mean the thing that shoots asteroids out of the sky that they live right next to?"

He sniggered. "Good point." He grinned. "Well, Mr. Spock?"

"Elle's analysis is satisfactory," Spock said, "though her penchant for explosions is a matter for further discussion."

Elle exchanged glances with Chekov and he shook his head. She grinned.

"I believe we should attempt to open the obelisk with the appropriate 'magic words,'" Spock said, managing to not suffocate on the illogical phrase. "And if it is still active, I believe we are safe in remaining in orbit, captain. I recommend starting a team on modifying the warp field for gravitational warping, in case we cannot figure the cypher in time."

"Logical," Kirk said dryly.

"One would hope so," Spock said primly, and the captain sniggered.

"All right," Kirk said. "Mr. Spock, pick your teams."

Elle followed Spock down to the science departments and watched the mad scramble as people reported to the away mission or got started on asteroid-deflecting theories. "Are you going or staying?" she asked.

"I will beam down," he said, "assuming I was the one who figured the cypher in the episode."

"Yeah." She grimaced. "I mean, you were looking for a missing Jim Kirk so there was a lot of tension in the discovery, but yeah."

"As we have the top xenolinguistic officers, a contingent of cryptographers, and two musical theorists on our crew, I do not believe that decyphering the language will be as tension-ridden as you saw it in your episode," Spock said dryly.

"Yeah, probably not." She leaned her hip against the nearest table.

Spock worked on the computer console for a few moments in silence and then asked, "If the captain had no memories..."

She looked at him curiously.

"Was he happy?" he asked, looking Supremely Uncomfortable.

Elle shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Elle."

She folded her arms and turned away. "It's not going to happen so there's no point in discussing it. It's not logical."

"A burden shared is a burden halved," Spock said gently.

Elle made a face. "There's no burden. You can probably guess anyway, but it didn't happen so it's fine."

"Kaiidth," Spock agreed. "What is, is. Come, we need to prepare the away team."

He was true to his word and didn't bring it up again. Elle couldn't help thinking about it, though, the rest of the day.

"Elle?"

She glanced up at the captain guiltily. "Sorry, what?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She picked up the book and tried to put her attention back on the page.

He touched her wrist, lowering the book. "Elle, look at me, please."

She met his golden eyes reluctantly. "Yes, sir?"

"What's the matter?" he asked. "You've been off this whole mission. Is it the Preserver obelisk?"

"No," she said, fidgeting. "That's really cool, actually."

"The asteroid?"

She shook her head.

"The Prime Directive?" he pressed.

"Nooo."

He raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Not everything's about you," she said half-heartedly.

"I thought I was the main character," he protested, mock-arrogant as he puffed out his chest.

Elle couldn't help but laugh. "Whatever."

He smiled at her. "Seriously, though. What's on your mind?"

Elle sighed. "Nothing."

"That's an awful big sigh for nothing." He scooted over on the couch and offered an arm. "C'mere, kiddo."

She folded into his side and let him hug her. "It's just." She sighed again. "You were so happy, in that episode. And the other times, when you didn't know who you were, or you didn't have those responsibilities. You, you were made to be a hsuband, and a father, besides being a starship captain, and you take to it so easy, and-" She sighed. "It's not fair. You should get to have both. _Be_ both."

He rested his chin on her head and squeezed her for a long second. "It isn't fair," he said. "But I had to choose between being responsible for four hundred and thirty lives, or two. And I made my decision, and I love my job."

"But you could be responsible for four hundred and thirty two," Elle pointed out.

"Being a husband and a father is a full-time job," he said. "And being a captain is twice as full-time, with no spouse to hand it off to."

"You have Spock," Elle said.

He snorted. "Married work partners we may be, but the final decision is always mine, as is the responsibility. And in this metaphor, he's definitely not my work wife."

"No, that's Bones," Elle said.

He snorted.

"What? Mothers do more scolding, and Bones has scolded everybody he's ever met, including god," Elle said.

He laughed. "Don't tell him that. Or at least don't tell him that without recording it."

She snickered. "I won't."

He kissed the top of her head. "Besides," he said, "I barely even parent you, and I'm your primary guardian."

"Yeah, but I understand why, and I have like, seven other authority figures," Elle said. "And if you find a family, they'd understand it too. It doesn't have to be either/or." She sighed. "I just want everybody to be happy."

He smiled and pressed another kiss to her forehead. "Thank you. But as it stands, there aren't any candidates, and I already have you, little miss troublemaker, so you don't need to worry about me. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good girl. Do you feel like reading the next chapter or should we call it a day?"


	51. The One-Year Remembrance of My Close Encounter With The Eternal Sleep

"Okay, but who are the Preservers? There's no record of them."

"Yet," Elle pointed out.

"That's not helpful!" Commander Samir pointed out, equally unhelpfully.

"There are a few legends," one of the archaeologists said slowly.

**-/\\-**

"Do re mi fa so-"

"No, it goes ru do mi sa fe li-"

"No, that's only for people with three vocal chords-"

"But the scale is base seven, not five-"

Elle stayed away from the musical theory office after that. Too much cacophony.

**-/\\-**

"Shore leave, Jim."

"We're already skirting the edge of the Prime Directive as it is, doctor, we can't risk being seen."

"But the natives haven't settled the entire planet, only part of it. I'm speaking as a psychologist, captain. Sitting here doing nothing while the engineers fiddle with pianos is making the majority of the crew antsy. Stress levels are going up all over the ship, and being so close to a duplicate Earth is making all the newer crewmembers homesick."

Kirk sighed. " _If_ we find an area of the planet that's not populated, we can revisit this topic," he said.

"Good. Come on, Elle."

Elle pouted up at them. "I'm in the middle of a level," she whined.

"The computer will save," McCoy replied. "Come on. You shouldn't be staring at a screen all day."

"But if I help you I'll just be staring at more screens," Elle complained.

Kirk put a hand over his mouth, obviously hiding a smile. "She's got a point, Bones," he remarked.

"You hush up," Bones retorted. "Elle, c'mon, don't you want to go down to the planet and have a vacation?"

"No, I wanna beat the level."

"Well, too bad. Come on."

Elle groaned dramatically and closed her game. "Okay, _mom_."

McCoy gaped at her. "I am not your mother," he said, aghast.

Kirk burst into uncaptain-like giggles.

Elle grinned at them both.

**-/\\-**

"So we have three potential spots, and a backup," McCoy said, satisfied. He transferred the data to his PADD. "Thank you for your help, Elle."

"You're welcome." It _was_ interesting, filtering planetary scans for signs of life and potential vacation-time.

"See?" he said, as they walked to the mess hall for dinner, "wasn't that better than playing video games all afternoon?"

"I guess," Elle said grudgingly.

They entered the rec deck. "SURPRISE!" shouted a hundred crewmen, plus four people tooting merrily on kazoos.

Elle gaped at them, her meal card frozen mid-exit from her pocket. "What?" she breathed.

"It's been a year since you've joined us," Kirk said, grinning. He plopped a party hat on her head. "Happy one-year anniversary with the Enterprise!"

Elle's eyes welled with happy tears. "Oh my goodness, you guys..." She looked over at McCoy. "Bones..."

"Hadta get you out of the rec deck so they could decorate," McCoy said, grinning shamelessly.

Elle gave him a hug, and then hugged all the senior officers, and anyone else she could reach.

Lt. Harb Tanzer escorted her to the buffet table where her favorite foods were nestled among general 'party food' selections, and everyone filled their plates to eat. "You know us," he said, giving her a grin, "any excuse for a party."

Elle beamed at him.

Kirk and McCoy sat on either side of her as everyone dug into their food. The Enterprise's band club set up in the corner, jamming merrily. "Best year of the mission," Kirk said, nudging her shoulder with his. "Certainly the most interesting. We couldn't let it pass."

"I didn't even remember," Elle confessed, grinning at him.

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "To our Civilian Mission Consultant," he said quietly, and they clinked soda glasses.

"You get one glass and then I'm switching you to juice," McCoy warned her.

"Booones, it's a partyyy," she said, giving him her best puppy eyes.

He grumbled at her. "If you get a cavity after this I reserve the right to lecture you."

"Noted," she said solemnly, and took another swig of soda.

There was a small pile of gifts waiting in her quarters after a long evening of snacks, music, dancing, and game night. Also cake. So much cake.

Elle approached the gifts curiously. A few new clothes from the nurses (they had her growth chart), some _nice_ combat boots with a knife hidden in the heel from security (she was on the whiteboard of shame for Most Times Abducted As Leverage), a few tacky fridge magnets for her mini-fridge from assorted crewmembers, and someone in the Knitting Club had made her and Simba matching sweaters. And someone had gotten her some amazing earrings (Uhura, probably, we all know why).

Elle wiped at her eyes, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. A full year on the Enterprise had passed in the blink of an eye. Her parents would be so proud of... her joy dimmed slightly. Her parents. She hadn't thought of them in days. But they would be happy for her. They would probably be overjoyed she had found a family here in this universe, in this time and place.

She kissed Simba's furry coat and went to bed with her new pajamas.

**-/\\-**

"We have cracked the cypher."

Elle held her hand up, Uhura obligingly gave her a high-five.

Kirk beamed at his Chief Science Officer and Head of Linguistics. "Excellent work, you two."

The beam-down plan was hatched. Elle went to her classes. No drama here. "Which is good," she said, "but the one-year anniversary of my death is the most exciting thing that's happened."

Chekov choked. "Can we not call it that?"

"Too soon?" Elle asked.

"You did not die," he said.

"One-year anniversary of my not-death," she said. "The one-year remembrance of my close encounter with the eternal sleep." She grinned. "Ooh, I like that. I want a banner with that on it."

Chekov sighed. "You are very strange child," he said.

**-/\\-**

"They were transplanted less than a thousand years ago which means the Preservers, or their successors, are still active. Doesn't this bother anyone?"

"Nope," Elle said, popping the 'p' sound. "There are so many other agencies and civilizations on higher planes of existence doing stuff, this shouldn't even bother you. It's small potatoes."

The senior officers exchanged a glance. "Okay, _that_ statement bothers me," Sulu said. "What other agencies and civilizations?"

Elle blinked at him. "I think that's so classified if I tried to tell you they might sniper me."

"That is terrifying and you are never leaving the ship without a two-man guard," Chief Giotto said immediately.

"Hey!" she protested. "I just said I wasn't going to say anything!"

"Too late."

Elle groaned and looked at the captain.

He held up his hands. "Protection of civilian consultants is Security's jurisdiction," he said.

Elle sighed.

Spock and the anthropologists took over the rest of the meeting, and it was decided to leave the 'natives' of this planet in peace, as it was impossible to determine if the native tribes knew of other worlds or not.

"We'll keep an eye on them," Kirk said. "A survey team every few years, until we can determine if their civilization would be skewered."

"They have a good thing going," McCoy agreed wistfully, as Kirk ordered the helm to leave orbit. "Almost like paradise. Be a shame to ruin it."


	52. Creepy Kids Are Creepy

"Sorry, Elle, no PE today, we're on yellow alert," Giotto said tersely, as she entered the Security department. "The colony on Triacus sent out a distress call, and we don't know what we're going to find."

"Copy that," Elle said, skedaddling with alacrity back out the door. She filled her hour by playing Virtual Reality shadowboxing on the Rec Deck. She worked up a healthy sweat, showered, had lunch, and went to her next class.

"Sorry, Elle, I'm taking the Nav shift as we make planetfall," Chekov said. "But you can study with Ensign Singh today, okay?"

"Okay."

Ensign Singh helped her work through the problems and taught her how to solve a Rubik's Cube in five minutes.

Elle took the Rubik's cube with her to Engineering, and encountered Scotty coming out of his domain. He didn't look happy. "What's wrong?" Elle asked.

Scotty sighed. "The security team found only five survivors on Triacus. All children. I'm mindin' the store till the captain's done burying the poor bairns' parents."

Elle stopped fidgeting with the Rubik's cube, her stomach going twisted and heavy. "All the adults?" she asked. "They killed themselves?"

Scotty's eyes narrowed. "How'd you know that? Is this an episode?"

Elle swallowed hard. "I think so."

Scotty frowned. "I think ye need to inform the captain. Come along, lass."

"Captain's in the middle of the memorial," Uhura told them when they went up. "You have to wait."

Elle chewed on her lip anxiously. Did they have time to wait?

"It's gonna be okay, baby," Uhura said, giving Elle a comforting hug.

Elle sighed. "Yeah."

Five eternal minutes later, Uhura was able to comm the captain.

"What is it, lieutenant?" he asked. He sounded incredibly stressed. The sound of giggling children filtered through the comm and he sighed. "We're kind of in the middle of something here."

Elle leaned forward into the mic pickup. "This is an episode, captain."

He sighed again. "What can you give me over comm?"

"Those kids are being influenced by an energy being that feeds off of chaos and fear," Elle said. "The adults were all driven crazy and killed themselves to stop the being from getting a ship. I think that thing made them bring the Enterprise here so it could go other places."

"How does it get onboard the Enterprise?" Kirk asked sharply.

Elle grimaced. "Uhhh, the kids summon it with a weird chant."

"What?"

"I don't know, this episode was weird and they're all possessed."

"What?"

Elle winced as the sound of kids laughing came through the channel. "Can't you hear them? They don't even realize everyone's dead."

Kirk sighed. "Understood. How did your episodes resolve this?"

"Um, you accepted your greatest fear and dealt with it, and got the kids to realize the evil alien was actually evil." Elle tapped the Rubik's cube against her forehead. "I don't actually know how that works, because I only watched this episode once, because creepy kids are creepy."

"True," Scotty said, unhelpfully.

"Fine. We'll try and figure something out here, on the surface. Kirk out."

Elle and Uhura shared a glance. "Is it just me or are there quite a few energy beings floating around?" Uhura asked.

"We are in a sixteen billion-year-old universe," Elle said. "There's a lot of old people out there. Old-people civilizations, I mean."

Scotty snorted. "Aye, and if less o' them liked tormentin' people, we'd all rest a mite easier," he said. "We'll not cancel the yellow alert until this is all dealt with."

"I'll get out of your hair," Elle said. She went to her quarters and hugged Simba for a while, silently hoping that the captain would be able to stop the Triacus-being from following the kids to the ship.

**-/\\-**

"All hands, this is the captain."

Elle lifted her head from her book, every nerve on tenterhooks.

"We have returned from the colony with the five survivors," Kirk said. "Unfortunately, they are also being influenced by-"

Elle groaned. "Noooooooooo, _whhyyyyyyyy_." She fell face-forward into the pillow. "Whyyyyy."

"-an energy being of unknown origin, who makes a person's greatest fear rise to the surface. For many of us, that will be the safety of the ship and crew. I ask all of you to keep a calm mind, and remember that we have the greatest ship and the greatest crew in the Fleet. If you find yourself becoming overcome by fear or anxiety, report to Medical immediately. Hopefully, the problem can be dealt with sooner rather than later. Thank you all."

Elle groaned again.

The comm whistled. "Elle, report to Medical."

"No," she told the comm, but she got up and hit the button. "On my way."

She got to medical and was greeted by Kirk, Bones, Chapel, two security guards, and the five children from Triacus. "Hello," she said uncertainly, giving them a wave.

"Hello!" the little girl, Mary, chirped enthusiastically. "Play with us?"

Elle turned mutely to the captain.

"Give us just a minute to talk to Elle and she can play with you," Kirk agreed, and grabbed Bones and Elle by the elbows. "'Scuse us." He dragged them to McCoy's office.

"What are they doing here?" Elle hissed, as soon as the door closed. "I thought you were going to break through to them on the surface!"

"We tried," Kirk said, lifting his hands in a gesture of defeat. "Whatever alien's got them under the influence, it's too strong on the planet."

"And, I don't want to cause an actual psychiatric breakdown when they finally realize the truth," McCoy said. "Keeping 'em on the planet is inhumane."

Elle sighed. "Okay, yeah, that's a good point. What do you need me to do? I don't remember anything else."

Kirk gave her a Look. "Well," he started.

Elle knew _exactly_ what he was going to say. "Nooooooooo," Elle said, stepping backwards and waving frantically, "No, no, please don't say designated babysitter," she begged. "I'm _really_ bad with kids _and_ they're being mind-controlled, _and_ my greatest fear is losing this universe and I don't wanna go through that again-" whoops. That wasn't supposed to come out. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

The two men exchanged a glance. "But you're already aware of that," Kirk said gently. "And because you'll seem to be on their side, we're hoping they won't try and influence you. We need you to try and reason with them from the viewpoint of a fellow child, try and get them to see what's actually going on."

"You don't need me," Elle protested weakly. "In the episode, you and Chapel handled it."

"But we're grown-ups," Kirk said. "Elle, you know I wouldn't ask this of you if we had another option, but-"

"But I'm the only kid on the Enterprise," she finished with a sigh.

"You don't have to do this," McCoy said. "You know your own mind, and you know your own mental capabilities, so if you know you can't do it, that's it."

Elle chewed on her lip, trying not to let her own fear of being afraid cloud her judgement. "I can do it," she said finally. "I don't think I'm a very good actor but I think I can do it. But if I get nightmares after this, you gotta override my hot chocolate limits."

McCoy gave her a hug. "Deal."

"You won't be alone with them at any point," Kirk said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Nurse Chapel and Security officers Mai and Trewitt will be with you at all times, and I'll be there as much as possible. We're not letting the children off of decks five and six, and we are definitely not letting them out of our sight. I've put Spock in auxiliary control in case they do get through to the bridge crew somehow."

"Sounds like a plan," Elle said reluctantly.

"Ready?" Kirk asked.

Elle took a deep breath and released it slowly, imagining that all her fear regarding the Triacus-being was being exhaled with her breath. "Ready," she said, feeling more stable.

They went back out to the main ward. "Who's hungry?" Chapel asked, as they came up to the group of children.

"Me!" they all chorused.

"All right, let's go to the mess hall and get something to eat," Chapel said. "Elle, are you coming with us?"

Elle nodded. "Uh-huh."

Kirk gave her a reassuring smile and let her go.

"Everyone, this is Elle, she lives on the ship with us," Chapel said. "Elle, this is Tommy, Mary, Steve, Ray, and Don."

"Hi," Elle said, passably cheerful.

Mary took Elle's hand. "Come on!"

The kids chattered and giggled amongst themselves as Elle and Chapel led the way to the mess hall. "What do we want to eat?" Chapel asked.

"Grilled cheese," Don said.

"With milkshakes!" Ray chimed in.

"If you have juice with your meals, you can have ice cream later as a snack," Chapel compromised.

"Okay!"

Elle got her own meal and sat next to Chapel, across from the kids. They stared at her as she ate her burrito. "What?" she asked.

"How come you live on the ship?" Tommy asked.

"My parents are really far away and the Enterprise agreed to take care of me," Elle said, glossing over any potential traumas.

"You're lucky," Tommy said. "Our parents decided to take us with them to that crappy ol' planet."

Elle gaped at him and covered it by stuffing the burrito in her mouth. "You didn't like Triacus?" she said, after a second.

"No."

"That yucky old planet," Mary agreed, wrinkling her nose.

"They were busy, all the time," Don added. "We're glad our parents aren't here, aren't you?"

"I miss my parents a lot," Elle said. "I wish they were here."

"You shouldn't. They'd just mess everything up."

Elle glanced at Chapel for help.

"Well," Chapel said, "who wants ice cream?"

That distracted them well enough for about twenty minutes. "What are we goin to do now?" Stevie asked.

"Now, we're going to go check out your new quarters," Chapel said. "Elle, would you like to come?"

"You have to come," Don said, grabbing Elle's hand.

"Uh, okay." Elle took the dishes to the recycling slot and took a deep breath. This was unnerving. She pulled herself together and went back to the group of kids.

The guest quarters were half a deck away from Elle's own quarters. Hopefully that was far enough away. Elle showed the kids how to use the sonic showers, and helped them make a blanket fort out of the pillows and sheets from the three beds. Chapel and the security officers supervised from the living room.

"Okay," Elle said, faking a yawn, "it's been a big day, and we all had busy days, so I'm going to go to bed-"

"You should stay and have a sleepover!" Mary chirped, and the other kids cheered.

Elle silently groaned. "Well, you see," she started slowly.

"Please?" Mary begged, grabbing Elle's hands.

"Please?" chorused the boys.

Elle glanced over at Chapel.

Chapel raised an eyebrow Spock-style. _It's your call_ , that look said.

The Enterprise and the galaxy. Elle was doing this for the Enterprise and the galaxy. "Sure," Elle said, giving them a weak smile.

"Yay!"

Chapel replicated sonic toothbrushes for everybody and helped them get pajamas, and then said goodnight. The two security officers would be posted outside the doors to let the kids sleep.

Elle sat on the edge of the bed and watched the kids jump on the beds after they brushed their teeth. After a few minutes, they settled down and gathered in a circle.

"Come play with us," Tommy invited.

"What are you playing?" Elle asked.

In response they started their creepy little chant.

Elle shivered as _something_ happened, and a green glowing humanoid appeared in the room. "Oh, I do not like this," she whispered to herself.

"You have done very well, my friends. You have done what must be done. You have come aboard the Enterprise. Now our destination is a Federation settlement. Captain Kirk will undoubtedly choose a closer station. Do not let that deter you. Marcos Twelve has millions of people on it. Nearly a million will join us as our friends. The rest will be our enemies. Together with our other friends who will join us, we will defeat our enemies as we defeated them on Triacus. A million friends on Marcos will make us invincible. No one will tell us where to go, when to sleep, where to eat. The universe will be mine to command, yours to play in. To accomplish this great mission, we must first control the Enterprise. To control the ship, we first must control the crew. You know how to do that. That is your next task."

"We have made a friend already," Tommy said, and pointed at Elle.

The green being turned to look at Elle. "Another friend to join us," he said, sounding as pleased as an energy being composed of negative emotions could sound. "Are you tired of your parents always telling you what to do?"

It sounded like the start of an infomercial. Elle wanted to laugh so badly but she replied, "No?"

The being looked surprised.

"I lost my parents," Elle added, before the being could get any ideas.

The being looked sympathetic. "You don't need them. No one will tell us where to go, when to sleep, where to eat. The universe will be mine to command, yours to play in."

Elle wanted to ask it if it knew about things like puberty and critical thinking development in the brain. "Sounds fun," she said.

"To accomplish this great mission, we must first control the Enterprise. To control the ship, we first must control the crew. Your new friends know how to do that. They will teach you, and together you will control the Enterprise. That is your next task."

Elle bit her lip and decided to go for it. "What does god need with a starship?" she asked. "If you can command the universe, why don't you just go?"

He glowed brighter and an almost physical wave of anger rolled through the small room. "I cannot leave my faithful followers behind," he said, gesturing to the kids. He looked at Tommy and the others. "Remember your next task. And as you believe, so shall you do, so shall you do. As you believe, so shall you do, so shall you do. As you believe, so shall you do, so shall you do..." he faded away.

Elle shivered again.

"You heard the Gorgon," Tommy said. "We need to control the Enterprise."

"How?" Elle asked.

"First we ask nice. We'll ask tomorrow, but I'm sleepy now. Let's go to bed, guys."

They doubled up, and Mary curled up next to Elle in the bed closest to the door. Elle lay on her back and contemplated the softly glowing ceiling. _This is going to be the worst_ , she decided silently, and in spite of her own whining, managed to fall asleep.


	53. Fellow Traumatized Citizen

Elle woke up with small feet in her ribs. _These are not my quarters. Those are not my own feet stabbing me in the ribs._ "Oh, Great Bird." She was still with the creepy kids. She slid out of the bed and tried not to trip over any of the pairs of shoes.

She almost got to the doors when Ray asked, "Where ya goin?"

Elle cringed. "Breakfast," she said, turning around. "I'm hungry."

"Wait for us!"

Elle resisted a sigh. "Yup."

They ate breakfast under the watchful eye of Chapel and Dr. McCoy, and then they went back to their quarters. "Okay," Tommy said. "Elle, you and me are going to go to the bridge and try and convince captain Kirk to take us to Marcos Twelve."

"You can't do that," Elle said. "Non-essential personnel aren't allowed on the bridge."

"Fine, then you go. And if they don't listen to you, you can get the Gorgon to convince them."

"How?" Elle asked suspiciously.

"You just get them to do it, and if they don't, then you just make a fist, and _make_ them." Tommy squinted his eyes. "And they just do it."

Elle blinked at them. "Okay," she said.

"The Gorgon will help you," Tommy said. "It'll be great. Get us to Marcos Twelve."

Elle walked out of the quarters, gave the two security guards a smile, and walked to the bridge, feeling like someone was watching over her shoulder. Was the Gorgon watching her? She'd have to play it by ear.

She walked onto the bridge and the feeling of being watched intensified. Her previously-enjoyable oatmeal and strawberries felt like a kettle bell in her stomach.

"Good morning," Kirk greeted her. "Sleep well?"

Elle's eyes widened. "Uh, more or less?"

He frowned sympathetically. "Worried?"

"Nope," Elle said, with as much cheer as she could muster. "Nothing like a good night's sleep to be able to play all day." She raised her eyebrows at Kirk.

He looked alarmed. "Feeling okay, Elle?" he asked.

"Just peachy," she chirped, and internally winced.

Kirk and Spock exchanged a glance. "Uh-huh. How're the kids?"

"Oh, they're fine," Elle said, waving her hands in a 'no' gesture across her neck. What would tip them off even more? "Hey, so, _Timmy_ said they all have relatives on Marcos Twelve, and the best thing would be to go directly to the colony to drop them off. You know. So they can be with their relatives. And all those millions of people. Bigger community. To play with." She gave them a Cheshire cat grin. "Plenty of powerful people to guide them. Protect them. Watch over their shoulders. Keep them in trouble, I mean out of trouble."

"I see," Kirk said slowly. "So they have relatives on Marcos Twelve?"

"Uh-huh," Elle said, in the most unconvincing manner ever.

"I see," he said again. "Unfortunately, we have orders to take the kids to the starbase. If they have relatives on Marcos Twelve, what relation are they?"

"I don't know," Elle said. "Tommy wanted to come up here and convince you himself but you know, he's not allowed on the bridge in case kids are, you know, distracting."

"Okay," Kirk said, giving her an equally false smile, "if you'll give me a bit, we'll contact Star Fleet and ask to be redirected to Marcos Twelve."

Elle gave him a thumbs-up. "Neato!"

"You wouldn't happen to, uh, have relatives on Marcos Twelve?" Kirk asked casually.

Elle blinked. What? Oh. "No, no, none that I know of," she said, giving a nervous smile. "I just know that they're there, you know? Just waiting."

"Okay." Kirk gave her a hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Go on, I'm sure you have classes to get to."

Elle sighed in relief. "Yes, sir."

She went back to find the kids on the rec deck. They clustered around her. "What'd he say?" Tommy asked.

"Uh, they have orders but he's going to check back with Star Fleet to redirect the Enterprise to Marcos Twelve," Elle said.

They cheered. "Yes! Good job!"

"Now you can play with us!"

Elle shook her head. "I have to go to my classes."

Don made a face. "No you don't! You don't have to do anything they tell you."

"But I like learning new things," Elle said.

"No," Ray said. "You have to stay and play with us."

"No, I've really got to go to class," Elle said gently.

Mary's face crumpled. "You're just like them! They only wanted to work, work, work-"

The other kids picked up the chant. "Work, work, work-"

Elle backed off a step. "Whoa, guys, chill out!"

"-Work, work-"

"I broke them," Elle said frantically, looking around for a nurse. "Chris! Ensign Mai!"

No adults in the area.

"What'd you do with the ensigns?" Elle asked Tommy.

He sneered at her.

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly. "What did you do with the ensigns and Nurse Chapel?" she demanded, terrified.

"We don't need them," he scoffed. "They're all work and no play, just like you. We don't need you either! We don't need no Star Fleet." He grinned at her. "Go away, or we'll make the Gorgon eat you up."

 _Cast out fear_. The thought popped into Elle's head out of the blue. "No," she said simply, and folded her arms. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm the oldest, so I'm in charge. And the Enterprise is my house, so that means I'm double in charge. Those are the rules to this game."

The younger ones stopped chanting. "What game?" Mary asked suspiciously.

"The game called, uh, Psy-pop."

"How do you play?" Steve asked.

"Uh, like this," Elle said, frantically rattling all her brain cells to try and shake something out. "You have to go through your memories, and you have to remember the last time your parents sung you a lullaby."

"That's a dumb game," Don said, but he was shushed by Ray and Steve.

Elle gestured to the computer. "You guys have video files of your parents, so you can look through those. I don't have any pictures so I have to think really hard. First person to find a lullaby gets a prize."

"What's the prize?" Ray asked.

"A bag of candy."

That convinced them. They crowded round the computer terminals and started clamoring for their computer files. "How do we get them?"

"Uh, we need an adult to help us figure it out," Elle said. "Where's Nurse Chapel?"

"Over there, sleeping," Tommy said, waving to a reading alcove.

Elle sped over and found Chapel slumped sideways in the chair, fast asleep. "Chris," Elle said, tapping her shoulder. "Christine? Nurse Chapel?"

The nurse jolted and sat up straight. "The children!"

"Everything's okay," Elle said, holding out her hands. "I made up a game to help them look at their parents, we need your help accessing the files."

Chapel put on her child-handling smile and followed Elle back to the table.

 _I really hope this works_...

They searched through the video files and one by one, they found the 'ulllaby incidents'. It didn't seem to have any effect on their moods, except their relative happiness in being in first place or second place, etc. Elle was last place.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Mary asked, staring at Elle with wide eyes.

Elle shrugged. "I haven't seen my parents in a year and I've had to adjust to a lot of different things. I don't remember the last time my mom sung me a lullaby. Maybe when I was four? Five? A little younger than you."

Don blinked. "That's really sad."

"Yeah."

"I miss my parents," Don said.

Chapel and Elle exchanged a glance. Could this be it?

Mary, who'd won the last round, tugged on Elle's sleeve. "Let's play another one!"

"Okay. Uhhhh, next person to remember when was the last time you played catch with your parents gets a new toy!"

They scrambled for the computer consoles. Chapel looked over at Elle. "When was the last time _you_ played catch?"

"Well me and Chekov calculated baseball vectors for math class one day so I think that counts," Elle said. "We weren't a very sporty family."

Chapel put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her in silent comfort.

Steve was the last one to have played catch with his dad, at a picnic on Triacus. He stared at the recording of the picnic and tears started to well in his eyes. "I miss my parents," he said, and started to cry.

Chapel moved over to the wall comm. "Chapel to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here."

"Sir, we've started making a breakthrough on the children. You'd better get down here."

"On my way."

Elle watched in horror as the rest of the kids began to cry, one by one, like sympathetic yawning but with more snot. A green glow suffused the room and the Gorgon began to coalesce. "Uh-oh."

The Gorgon scowled. "My friends, take heart! These grownups are weak like your parents were, this false friend as well!"

"No more weak than you," Elle said.

"I am not weak! I am strong!"

"You were shut up in a cave for thousands of years, you don't sound very strong," Elle pointed out. "And if you're so strong how come you need little kids to do your bidding, huh? How come you need a starship?"

Tommy wiped at his face. "What are you talking about?" he sniffed.

"What is the Gorgon, really?" Elle asked. "Look at him. Is he going to play catch with you? Is he going to give you a hug when you get scared? Is he gonna be able to feed you sandwiches and ice cream?" She barely noticed as Kirk, McCoy, and two security guards came in. She glared at the Gorgon. "He's nothing but a giant ball of hate, wrapped in a weird robe."

"You have strong emotion," the Gorgon said, giving Elle an oily smile. "You could be stronger."

Elle scoffed. "No thanks."

"Then you will be weak," he said.

Elle blinked, and everyone was gone. They were all gone. She was alone, on a strange featureless plain- _no_. She jerked her head, hard. "No," she said aloud, "I'm not there, I'm not alone, I haven't died." She rubbed at her eyes, trying to dispel the illusion. "I'm not alone." _Cast out fear_. The Gorgon fed on fear. "I'm not alone," she repeated. "But even if I was, I'd be okay. I've been trained. I'm okay. I'm not weak, I'm _not_ helpless." She scrubbed at her eyes again and started hearing voices.

"-Elle, Elle, can you hear me? Elle, honey, it's not real-"

"-Don't be afraid. Look at him. Without you children, he's nothing. The evil remains within him."

Elle blinked, blinked again. Captain Kirk? He was here? She wasn't alone. She wasn't alone.

Reality snapped back into place. The children were crying, the Gorgon was fading away, Chapel was holding Elle's shoulders. "Elle?"

She met the nurse's concerned gaze. "I'm here. I'm okay," she assured her. "I'm okay."

Chapel enfolded Elle into a hug. "Oh, thank goodness."

McCoy moved in to scan the kids, his blue eyes concerned and empathetic. "You did it," he said.

"I want my mommy," Mary sobbed.

Kirk picked her up and rubbed her back soothingly. "Shh. It's all right, Mary. It's all right. It's all right, isn't it, Doctor?"

"Yes, it's all right," McCoy said gently. "We can help them now."

A small fleet of nurses appeared and took over. Kirk transferred a teary Mary to Nurse Chapel's arms, and stood with Elle and Spock in the rec room.

"You all right, Elle?" Kirk asked.

She leaned against his side and he hugged her. "I'm okay."

"What did you see?"

"I was alone, on this plain, it was just me and dust." Elle shivered. "But I knew it wasn't real."

Kirk pressed a kiss to her hair. "I'm very proud of you. You were very brave."

"Thanks." She turned slightly to look at Spock. "So it's gone?"

"It si gone," Spock confirmed.

Elle shivered again. "Good."

Kirk smiled down at her. "I think you've earned an early night, Elle. Why don't you go get some rest?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to be alone."

Kirk smiled at her sympathetically. "Understandable. C'mon, sweetheart, you can give me the full story over some custard pie and we can follow Spock around his labs all night, how's that?"

Elle managed a grin. "Sounds good."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I have no work scheduled after 1900 hrs," he said.

"Then we'll play chess," Kirk said.

"Agreeable."

Elle gave them her version of events for the record and spent the rest of the day on the bridge as the Enterprise headed for Starbase Four. Afterwards, they had dinner with Chekov and talked about Dostoevsky.

Elle fell asleep with her head on her arms sometime in between Kirk's second win and Spock's retaliatory gambit.

**-/\\-**

"Elle, right on time! The kids need a real tour of the arboretum and the rec decks." Kirk beamed at her.

She shook her head at him, wide-eyed. "No way, are you kidding? These are real normal kids, not even creepy ones. I don't do kids!"

"You _are_ a kid," he reminded her. "And besides, they like you. They're glad you helped them see the truth. C'mon, Lt. Anderson's really in charge, you just have to join in for a bit."

She groaned and covered her eyes with her hand. "Don't give me the puppy eyes, captain-"

" _Pleeeeaaase_?" Kirk asked, hamming it up and turning on the charm, even fluttering his eyelashes at her.

Elle groaned again and collapsed into giggles. "Fine! I'll babysit."

"Good girl." He tugged at her ponytail. "Go on. They're already on the rec deck."

**-/\\-**

"Elle?"

"Yes?"

"Did you cry a lot when you lost your parents?"

Elle glanced over at Ray. "Yes, I did."

"Do you still cry lots?"

"Sometimes. It depends on how I feel."

He wiped at his eyes with a sleeve. "I don't wanna keep crying. It makes me tired."

She held out an arm and stiffened when he dove into her ribs, burying his face in her shoulder. "Um. That's what crying does. But, yeah, it makes you tired, huh?" She patted his back awkwardly and gave Lt. Anderson the 'help me' Look.

Lt. Anderson coaxed Ray into a hug and took him to another alcove on the observation deck so he could have a little cry in private.

Elle heaved a sigh in relief. It turned into a hiccup of alarm when Tommy flopped down beside her. "Um."

"It was our fault our parents died," Tommy said.

She stared at him. "No it wasn't."

"Yes, it was. We let that, that _monster_ get to us." Tommy sulkily wiped at his eyes.

"You're kids, you're easy targets for super-powered energy beings," Elle said, which in hindsight, wasn't very comforting.

"It's not fair," he sniffed miserably.

"It's not fair," Elle agreed.

"Where'd your parents go?" he asked.

Well, misery loves company. "I'm from another planet. My parents are still there. I'm the one that got transferred over here."

"Oh. No way to get back?"

"Nope."

"Oh." He rested his chin on his knees. "Does it get better?"

"Yeah." She mirrored his gesture. "It gets better. It helps if you have things to do. If you help other people."

"Oh." He glanced sideways at her. "I'm sorry I said the Gorgon was gonna eat you."

"You were kinda brainwashed. Let's call it good if you stay away from creepy cults, okay?"

"Okay."

**-/\\-**

When they reached Starbase Four, Elle waved goodbye with mixed emotions. Mostly though, relief. "I'm never having kids," she told McCoy.

He laughed. "That's your decision," he told her. "You're not going to miss them?"

Elle sighed. "I mean, maybe a little. We promised to keep in touch though, over email, so it'll be fine." She wrinkled her nose. "I'm tired of playing dress-up though."

"So you're not going to keep the toys we replicated?" McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elle picked up one of the model ships. "Well, I didn't say that..."

He laughed.


	54. Dr. Pulaski, Is That You?

"Elle to the Briefing Room."

Elle reached over and flipped the switch on her desk. "On my way, captain." She put her drawing sketchpad down, stuffed her feet into her shoes, and headed for the briefing room. They hadn't even left Starbase Four yet, what was happening?

The senior officers were assembling. At the head of the table, Kirk and Spock conferred in quiet tones. Elle slipped into a seat between Chief Giotto and Scotty.

McCoy came in a moment later.

Kirk faced his assembled officers. "Since we are so handily docked at Starbase Four, we've been reassigned to diplomatic transport duty."

Everyone sighed.

"I would echo the sentiment, except this time, gentlefolk, we are transporting the Medusan ambassador back to his home planet."

Giotto sat forward. "Medusan, sir?" Giotto said warily.

"Yes, Chief."

Giotto pulled out a datapad and started typing furiously.

"Medusan, sir?" Scotty asked.

"The Medusans have produced some of the most inspired minds in the galaxy. They are known for their navigational brilliance; they can find their way anywhere in the galaxy. Their grasp of mathematics and spacetime is sublime, but their physical appearance is exactly the opposite. They have evolved into a race of beings who are formless, so utterly hideous that the sight of a Medusan brings total madness to any human who sees one." Kirk frowned. "Having the Medusan ambassador onboard will come with its own problems. Chief Giotto?"

"Every time the Medusan ambassador is moved, we'll have to clear the corridors, no exceptions. The ambassadorial quarters will also have to be sealed, no access to that section of the deck without express authorization."

"Will it really drive you mad?" Elle asked.

"It will."

"They're not actually called Medusans, right?" she continued.

Uhura smiled slightly. "No, they're not. But their species name for themselves is telepathic, it doesn't translate to psi-null brains, so they gave the Federation permission to give them a non-telepathic designation."

"Cool."

Giotto gave her a stern look. "I don't want you anywhere near the Medusan, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir," she replied solemnly. "I would like to keep my brains intact."

Kirk pressed his lips together in a tight smile. "As do we all. Mr. Sulu, ETA to the Medusan homeworld?"

"Only five days, sir, at standard warp," Sulu said.

"Excellent. Also coming aboard is Mr. Marvick, a civilian engineer, and Dr. Jones, the Ambassador's interpreter."

Scotty perked up. "Lawrence Marvick, sir? Why, he was one of the designers who worked on the Enterprise!"

Kirk smiled. "I'm sure he'd appreciate a tour of a working engine room, Scotty." He glanced around. "They come onboard in three hours. For further questions, see Mr. Spock or Commander Giotto. Dismissed."

Elle bit her lip, slowly getting up from her chair. Medusans. Medusans. Why did they sound so familiar?

"I'm almost envious, Spock. You'll be able to see the ambassador yourself," Bones said, as he and Spock waited for the captain to finish speaking to Giotto.

"With the appropriate visor of course," Spock said. "I trust we have them?"

"Would it be a fully stocked sickbay if we didn't?" Bones replied indignantly.

Visors... Elle gasped. "This is an episode!" she said.

All four officers turned to her. "What?" Kirk said. "An episode? We just had one!"

"And now there's another one," Elle said. "This, this ambassador's interpreter, the doctor, she's this telepath, right, and that engineer guy, he goes crazy, and he sends the Enterprise into like a void or something, and Spock has to mind-meld with the Medusan, and there's like this rose metaphor or something, I don't know. I just know that the same woman who plays Dr. Jones also plays Dr. Pulaski in The Next Generation."

They blinked at her. "Why would Mr. Marvick, if he was familiar with the Medusans, why would he look at it?" Giotto asked.

Elle shrugged. "I don't know. This was a weird episode." She focused on the memory of the episode, pulling out the details. The more she did this, the easier it became to remember the episodes without having to do sustained meditation, Vulcan-style. "...Spock forgets his visor," she said. "After the mind-meld. And he goes into like a fugue state or something, and you have to prod the doctor to go into his mind and fix him. Or something. There was so much flirting in that episode, I didn't really watch it. Ugh."

Kirk pressed a hand over his mouth. "I see. Well, Mr. Spock, you'll have to be careful. And Mr. Giotto, while onboard let's have Mr. Marvick restricted from the ambassador's quarters."

"Aye, captain."

Elle watched the harried security chief walk out.

"Anything else, Elle?" McCoy asked.

Elle looked at Spock. "She's jealous of you. Cuz you almost had her job."

Spock's eyes widened imperceptibly and both Kirk and McCoy rounded on him.

"You had a job offer to work with the Medusan ambassador?" Kirk asked, looking injured.

"I did not even consider it," Spock replied. "My place is here."

Elle beamed almost as brightly as Kirk and McCoy.

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Kirk said, squeezing Spock's arm affectionately. He patted Bones on the back. "C'mon. Let's see if we can convince Mr. Tanzer to cook up a meal we can have with the ambassador's attaches."

Elle followed them out. "Can I come? I can wear a dress."

Kirk grinned at her. "Of course. You're our civilian mission consultant. It's very important to have you at all official functions."

"On your best behavior, mind you," McCoy warned.

"Yes, mom," Elle replied, and giggled as he glared at her.

"I am not your mother," he said.

"Considering you are in charge of her health, emotions, and diet, that would classify you as her mother," Spock deadpanned.

McCoy's jaw dropped. "Spock!"

**-/\\-**

Elle had exactly one (1) formal dress, a deep blue thing with a swishy skirt, under which she put a pair of shorts, because with the Enterprise's track record, she'd probably have to go up a Jefferies Tube or something in it.

"I look pretty good, if I do say so myself," Elle said, surveying herself in the mirror.

The door chimed.

"Come!"

Uhura entered the room, dressed in her formal uniform, beautiful dangly earrings in her ears. "You look beautiful, Elle," she said, kissing Elle's cheek. "Absolutely gorgeous."

Elle blushed. "Thanks. I tried."

"And your efforts have not gone in vain. Come on, sugar, let's go eat."

They encountered Scotty on the way to the Captain's Dining Room. He was clad all in plaid. "Ah, the two most pretty ladies on the Enterprise," he said, smiling at them. "May I escort you, Lt?"

"You may, Mr. Scott," Uhura replied, taking his arm gracefully.

Elle smiled at them. Cutest couple on the ship.

They entered the dining room, and Kirk, eyes twinkling, offered Elle a flute of sparkling apple cider. "You get the whole bottle all to yourself," he teased.

Elle grinned. "Aw, yeah, angry apple juice is all mine."

Kirk snorted. "You're so weird."

Dr. Jones and Mr. Marvick entered. "And who's this?" Dr. Jones asked, looking at Elle.

Elle was impressed. _Must be a really good sensor net, to pick me out so fast_.

Dr. Jones gasped slightly.

Right. Telepath. Elle focused. "Elle Wilcott. Pleasure to meet you, Doctor Jones, Mr. Marvick."

"Your parents are stationed on the Enterprise?" Mr. Marvick asked, shaking her hand.

"Sort of," Elle said, grimacing.

"Elle is our civilian mission consultant," Kirk said, squeezing Elle's shoulder.

Mr. Marvick smiled and moved over to talk to Scotty.

Dr. Jones tilted her head, observing Elle with a sightless gaze. "You're a very observant young lady," she said.

Elle bowed her head. "Ma'am." She slid into her seat at the table and focused on upping her mental shields. If the stuff in her brain was classified she didn't want Dr. Jones or the Medusan ambassador picking up on it, no matter how trustworthy they were.

Dinner was good, with real, non-replicated food, and great conversation about Medusan technology and Vulcan mental discipline.

"You've studied it as well, haven't you, Ms. Wilcott?" Dr. Jones asked. "I can tell you have very good mental shielding."

Elle almost choked on her salad. "Yes, doctor." She cleared her throat. "I'm middling-high on the esper scale, but nowhere near your abilities, ma'am."

The conversation moved on and Elle almost laughed, realizing that only McCoy and Marick knew that Dr. Jones was blind, and the rest of the senior officers didn't, so everybody ended up being confused. Why wasn't it common knowledge?

Whatever. Elle applied herself to her strawberry shortcake.

The dinner ended with no weird vibes and Elle gave Kirk, McCoy, and Uhura hugs goodnight. "See you in the morning," she said, as they filtered out to the corridors. "Hey Bones, can I have strawberry shortcake for breakfast?"

"Absolutely not," he replied.

"Why not? Isn't it just like having pancakes with strawberries and whip cream?"

Bones opened his mouth, closed it, looked disgruntled. "Fine," he said. "But you better have protein with it."

Elle grinned. "Nice. Good night!"

"Sleep tight!" Kirk replied.

Elle went around the corner, smiling, and stopped when she saw Dr. Jones standing there.

"Miss Wilcott."

"Dr. Jones? Can I help you with anything?" 

"How did you know I was blind?" Dr. Jones asked.

"Oh. Um, your dress is beautiful but I know that's a sensor net overlay."

"You knew before," Dr. Jones said. "How?"

"Well, Bones knows," Elle said uneasily.

"You are prevaricating," Dr. Jones said. "The doctor wouldn't break patient confidentiality."

Elle folded her arms. "It's classified, doctor, I'm sorry. I just, know things."

Dr. Jones stared at her for a long moment. "I see. Good night, Miss Wilcott." She turned on her heel and left.

Elle stared after her, nervous. What had she seen?

**-/\\-**

She couldn't sleep that night. It wasn't just unease over Dr. Jones' telepathy, but there was something, else. Something tickling the back of her mind, a presence, an awareness. The Medusan ambassador?

Whatever it was, Elle couldn't sleep. She got up, made some tea, and meditated, strengthening her mental shields the way Spock had shown her, until the strange feling in the back of her mind faded to an afterthought, a vague La Croix flavor.

The next morning at breakfast she stared into her oatmeal until Ensign Noah prodded her to eat.

Elle was mid-chew when Dr. Jones came over to the table and sat across from her. Elle swallowed hastily. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Dr. Jones said. "You misled me yesterday."

"Nuh-uh," Elle said, as was only reasonable.

"You did," Dr. Jones replied calmly. "You are rather higher up on the esper scale than you said. The ambassador did not realize he would have to shield himself that much from your awareness."

Elle relaxed minutely. "Oh. So that was him?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Elle stuffed more oatmeal in her mouth.

Dr. Jones got up and went away without further comment.

Ensign Noah glanced sideways at Elle. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Elle said, as Dr. Jones left the mess hall. "She weirds me out, is all."

Engineering lessons later that day were given by one of Scotty's lieutenants, since Scotty himself was holed up with Marvick talking about upgrades. Hold up. Marvick was still here. Nobody had died! Nobody had gone crazy.

Elle blinked to herself. Was the whole episode just, over? Not gonna happen?

"Elle?"

She looked over at Lt. Riley. "Right. Sorry." She buckled up her tool belt and followed him into the Jefferies Tubes. "What are we doing again?"

"Standard maintenance on some units."

They got done with two of them fairly quickly and headed to the third one. It was a fairly obscure junction that was wide enough for Elle to stretch out. She promptly did so.

Riley left her behind. "That height makes my back hurt," he complained.

"Really? This is great!"

"You should ask Mr. Scott if you can make yourself a little hidey-hole, then," Riley said, as they continued shuffling through the tubes.

"A hidey-hole," Elle repeated. "That'd be cool. You think he'd let me?"

Riley gave her an unimpressed look. "You have Mr. Scott wrapped around your finger, lass, and don't even deny it."

Elle grinned.

"Besides," he added, "considering what happened at the Neutral Zone, you should have a nice little hidey-hole anyways."

Elle craned her neck to look at him. "You know what happened?"

He looked very serious. " _Everyone_ knows we almost lost you to the Romulans."

She frowned. "Did the captain put you up to this?"

"No. But it would certainly make him feel a lot better to know you had a bolt-hole."

"True," Elle said. "I guess it'd be cool, like a secret hideaway."

"That's the spirit," he encouraged.

They finished the last maintenance routine and came out of the Jefferies tubes. Elle got caught up in the latest gossip about the Maintenance Department, "Ensign Parks did _what_!?" and completely forgot about Lt. Riley's suggestion.

Until dinner, that is, when Dr. Jones stared fixedly at Elle for a solid ten minutes. Considering Dr. Jones wasn't able to see, it was impressive. Elle inhaled the rest of her food and left.


	55. Secret Club - No Invaders Allowed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Losing friends to Covid is the worst. Sorry if updates have been/will be sporadic, there's been a lot going on and pandemic fatigue is getting to me. Don't worry, this story has already been written out, it's not going anywhere (insert reassuring thumbs-up here) Anyways, I hope you like this chapter.

"Scotty?"

"Yes, lass?"

"Can I use one of the Jefferies Tube junctions as a little secret hideout?"

He turned to face her, concerned. "Someone been botherin' you, Elle?"

"No," she said, fidgeting.

"That was the most unconvincing 'no' I've ever seen," he said flatly.

"Well, currently, Dr. Jones is freaking me out," Elle said, "but that's not what I'm worried about."

"Freaking you out, how?" he asked.

Elle tapped her forehead. "She's telepathic, Scotty. She knows I know something and she keeps staring at me. Asking me weird questions. It doesn't help that I can sense the Medusan ambassador like, like a fizzy soda in the back of my mind."

Scotty's eyebrows went all the way up. "Why haven't you informed Mr. Spock? Or the doctor?"

Elle waved a hand. "I don't have any trouble sleeping or anything. It's just," she bit her lip, "Lt. Riley mentioned, that me having a place to go, would be good, in case of Romulans. Or Klingons. Things like that."

His expression changed. "Ah. Well, that would be logical, wouldn't it? Let me run it by the captain and we'll see."

"Nice."

"If," he continued, giving her a firm look, "you speak to Mr. Spock about these events."

Elle sighed. "Fine."

"Good. You just go do that then," he said. He folded his arms in an attitude of patience.

Elle sighed again and went to go find Spock.

He was in one of the science labs, working with one of the astrophysics teams. "Good afternoon, ax'nav, give us a few moments."

Elle nodded and perched on one of the stools, watching them throw variables around the holographic tank like little blue bouncy balls.

They finished their advanced mathematical sorcery and returned to their stations. Spock turned to Elle and clasped his hands behind his back. "You seem disturbed."

"Not really but Scotty's making me talk to you otherwise I won't get a secret junction."

Spock gave her a look and gestured towards the door. "I must oversee the xenobiological departments, walk with me as you please elaborate, Elle."

Reluctantly, Elle informed him that she could sense the Medusan ambassador and that Dr. Jones knew that Elle knew things she couldn't possibly know. "She keeps just, looking at me," Elle complained. "Like she's trying to peel my brain like an orange."

"That is a grave breach of telepathic conduct," Spock said, solemn. "I will speak to her." He gave Elle a long, assessing glance. "With each encounter, your esper sensitivity seems to be increasing," he said. "I believe we should resume your mental training."

Elle nodded. "If you have time."

"I will make the time," he said. "You must have the tools to take care of your own mind, and shield yourself from others'."

"So the Jefferies Tube junction," Elle said.

"You may claim it," Spock said, quirking an amused eyebrow at her. "I will inform the captain."

She resisted the urge to give him a hug. "Thank you! Excuse me." She hot-footed it to engineering. "He said yes," she informed an amused Scotty.

"Verra well then, lass, go to it."

"Awesome!" She hugged him, and went to pester the quartermaster's office.

"Blankets, pillows, a storage box with wall-attachments, and a projecting screen?" Lt. Cmdr. Chanax asked. "What are you making a blanket fort?"

"Essentially."

"Good thing we have all the extras from crew turnover." He waved her into Storage Room 25-C. "Go nuts."

The crew turnover room was where all the things too big to be taken with you or too complex to recycle into replicator material went to reside. People who wanted a personalized touch to their rooms could come here and take what they wanted. Or you could sneak in and dump your unwanted belongings in a sort of trade. And sometimes, as a prank, other people's belongings.

Elle made a small pile of pillows, grabbed one duvet and a few throw blankets, and sat down to make sure they were all fire-safe. After some hunting she also found a couple storage boxes and a small projector. And, she found some noise-canceling carpeting, probably from the last time a Denebian been onboard. Denebians all snored terribly. They produced a lot of internal mucus. Thanks Bones, for that wonderful biology tidbit, Elle mused.

Ooh, and glow in the dark stars. She snagged them and dragged her bounty out of the quartermaster's department, wrapped in the duvet.

The crewmembers she passed smiled at her tolerantly. "You movin' out, Elle?" Lt. Martine teased.

"I'm making a secret club," Elle replied, grinning.

"Uh-huh."

Elle wrestled her things all the way to junction 45-27 B and set to work. She installed the soundproofing carpeting on all six sides of the junction and tested it with a shrill whistle. Not bad. She installed the storage lockers on the blank wall and shoved the blankets and pillows inside them to make sure they'd be out of the way when she wasn't here. "Perfect," she said aloud.

She pulled everything back out and created the perfect nest. She set up the projector to play from her tablet, and opened the other storage box. It was full of snacks. "Perfect," she repeated.

Two episodes of a Rigellian historical drama later, she got a text on her PADD. "Literature analysis tonight?" from the captain.

Elle glanced at the chrono. "Oops." She texted back, "on my way!" and shoved everything back into their boxes. She grabbed her PADD and slid her way down the Jefferies Tubes, ending up right outside the Observation Deck. She went into the room and spotted the captain. "Sorry I'm late," she said, sitting across from him. "I got caught up in my new project."

Kirk smiled. "Yes, I heard, your new secret junction. Every kid needs a treehouse." His smile dimmed slightly. "Spock also mentioned you were going to step up your mental shielding? Is the presence of the Medusan ambassador bothering you?"

"Not bothering," Elle said, "I'm just, really aware that he's onboard."

"Hm." He tapped at his PADD. "So where did we leave off last time?"

Elle took the out gratefully and switched to their latest novel. "There were pirates," she said.

"Ah yes. The Dread Pirate Roberts."

-/\\-

Dr. Jones came into the Observation Room right in the middle of Elle's ramble about breaking the fourth wall in literature. Elle fell silent awkwardly as Dr. Jones came over.

"Dr. Jones," Kirk said, giving a charming smile.

"Captain Kirk. Miss Wilcott."

"Can I assist you with anything, doctor?" Kirk asked, after a second.

"No, thank you," Dr. Jones said. "I was merely restless and I didn't wish to stay in my quarters."

"Of course," the captain agreed. "The arboretum is beautiful this time of year. Our botanists have been cultivating heirloom roses to give to the colonies we visit."

"That sounds lovely," Dr. Jones said. "Perhaps Miss Wilcott could give me a tour?"

Elle glanced at the captain uneasily.

"Unfortunately Miss Wilcott is doing homework," Kirk said smoothly, "but I would be pleased to stand in as a tour guide." He stood up, squeezed Elle's arm reassuringly, and escorted Dr. Jones away.

Elle sat back in her chair and frowned after them. Maybe she'd better go to bed.

-/\\-

The comm dinged.

Elle put on her shoes and hit the comm. "Elle here."

"Elle, would you eat breakfast with Mr. Spock and I in my quarters this morning?" the captain asked. "We have something to talk about."

Elle paused. "Um, yes, sir. On my way." She grabbed her PADD and made her way up one deck to the captain's quarters. The door slid open when she got close and she went in.

Spock and the captain were sitting at the desk with cups of coffee. The captain waved her over and handed her a cup of hot cocoa. "Good morning. You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I slept fine," Elle said, sitting across from them. "Am I in trouble? This feels like a parental lecture."

Kirk laughed. "No, you're not in trouble, sweetheart. Actually, you've gotten a job offer."

Elle blinked. "What?"

"I spoke to Dr. Jones yesterday about her interest in you," Kirk said. "It was, enlightening."

Elle's stomach twisted. "She didn't read my mind? The classified stuff?"

"No," he reassured her, "nothing like that. Apparently, you piqued the Medusan ambassador's interest as well, and he asked Dr. Jones to scope you out as a potential apprentice and one-day succesor to the telepathic link."

"Apprentice?" she echoed. "What? But I'm not even telepathic."

"The Medusan ambassador inferred you would be, with sufficient training and exposure to a telepathic environment," Spock said.

"But I'm not blind or Vulcan, I'd go crazy," Elle said.

"Aye, there's the rub," Kirk quoted, grinning wryly. "As your guardians, we declined the ambassador's generous offer to take over your care." He gave her a look. "Unless of course you'd like to become a diplomatic attache."

"No way," Elle said, shaking her head so vigorously her hot cocoa almost spilled.

"I didn't think so," Kirk said, amused.

"And that was it?" Elle asked. "No nefariousness?"

"Nope."

Elle leaned back in her chair. "And Dr. Marvick isn't gonna go berserker?"

"Nope."

"Cool." Elle glanced at the empty desk. "You promised breakfast."

The captain laughed. "I did, didn't I?"

Four days later, the Medusan party was dropped off on their homeworld. Elle was glad to see them go.


	56. And Now, a Knife

By virtue of a wickedly difficult obstacle course for someone who doesn't have Captain America biceps, Elle missed the _entire_ Melkotian debacle. She didn't even realize that they were in orbit around Melkot until she went to dinner and saw the planet in the window. "Wait, where are we?" she asked Lt. Frederickson, the security officer in charge of her training that day.

"In orbit around Melkot for diplomatic overtures," Frederickson replied.

Elle choked on her electrolyte drink. " _Melkot_? With the _Old West_ illusion? I _missed it_?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Frederickson said.

"That's okay." Elle smiled at the planet. "The Melkots. That's so cool."

They spent a couple days there, enough for the diplomatic parties to agree to a cultural exchange and then they were ordered away.

"So how did they make their illusions anyway?" Elle asked Spock. "Was it some sort of holographic technology?"

"No it was not. They have apparently harnessed something they call ionic energy, a form of non-permanent energy that they use to create illusions. It is similar to synthehol however, if you have a strong enough mind you can overcome the effects."

"Fascinating," Elle intoned.

Spock raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Indeed."

Elle continued drawing compound molecules. "Wait, hold up," she said, "isn't that from a Doctor Who episode?" she asked.

"I do no know," he said.

"No, I'm sure it was," Elle replied, scratching her head with the stylus. "Do you think whoever wrote that episode encountered one of these aliens?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps. Perhaps that is why they refused to have contact with humans until they had matured."

Elle filed that under 'another good reason never to resort to violence'.

-/\\-

"And now, a knife," Elle declared, giving a mad-scientist cackle.

"No," said Lt. Riley immediately, from the other room where he was running diagnostics.

"But _Kevin_ ," Elle pleaded.

He came over to her classroom. "What in the Great Bird are you doing that you need a knife?" he demanded.

Elle gestured to the disassembled cleaning robot. "I need to give it to Commander Stabby."

" _What_."

"It's a meme. I'm going to give him a rudimentary AI and a voice box and arm him with a wind chime and a knife. Not a real one though. Just a prop knife."

"...why?"

"Because Scotty told me to take him apart and reassemble him for a project grade."

"I don't think he said anything about giving it upgrades, though," Riley said doubtfully.

" _Him_ ," Elle stressed. "And Scotty said I could. I don't think he thinks I can do it though. But I pass either way."

Riley sighed. "Fine."

Elle grinnned. "Nice."

She finished painting the outer body, changing it from the standard Fleet gray to a Maintenance orange-jumpsuit, and carefully painted Commander stripes in gold on one corner of its circular body. "You have a hot rod bod," she told it, and giggled to herself. Okay, maybe the paint fumes were getting to her a bit.

Putting all the mechanics back together took her another two class-periods, and adding the vocoder and the learning AI-integration to the computer unit took some, ahem, Scotty-like Macgyvering to make it fit.

She held up the bot, face to 'face' with its two cameras. "You're not going to turn into an evil AI and take over the ship, are you?" she asked it.

It beeped. "Negative," it replied.

"Good Commander Stabby," she told it, and set it down. "All right, let me just add your wheels." She flipped him upside down and added the wheels, as well as the tiny wind-chimes she'd made with Sulu in Art (nee Botany). She flipped him once more and set him on the ground. "Go ahead, Commander Stabby."

It wheeled forward, the windchimes tinkling merrily as it vacuumed and sonicked the carpeting.

"Systems readout?" Elle asked hopefully.

"Systems optimal," it replied.

"Excellent." Elle kneeled down and stopped it with a hand on its frame. She attached the prop knife housing and tested it. The molded rubber blade jumped in and out satisfactorily. "This way, you're not gonna catch anybody in the Achilles," she said, patting Commander Stabby's casing. "You look awesome though."

"Affirmative," Commander Stabby replied.

Elle laughed. "Nice." She opened the door. "You may go, Commander Stabby."

It wheeled away to join its fellow bot brethren.

She doubted she'd see it again. There were over a hundred of those little suckers methodically sweeping the Enterprise decks at any one time depending on traffic patterns. Though he did stand out... "Hope nobody minds having a robot as a superior officer," she mused. "Ah, well."

-/\\-

' _Is this your bot? Orange bot with commander stripes seen roaming the decks. Whoever modified this bot please claim responsibility because we can't catch the little sucker and he's refusing to come in for maintenance.'_

Elle stared at the chat room announcements, cheeks turning red in mortification. "Whoops," she said. She glanced at Cmdr. Samir. "Hey, commander?"

"Yes, Elle?"

"I have to go down to Maintenance for a second."

"That's fine. Did you finish your reading?"

"Yeah."

"Go on then."

Elle headed for the Ops offices and entered the main Maintenance bay. "Uh, Lt. Comander Dahl?"

"Elle, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

She bit her lip. "The cleaning bot. Is mine. Ish."

Lt. Commander Dahl snorted. "You modified him?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I thought it would be cool."

Dahl started laughing. "How do you get him to come in for maintenance?" she asked.

"I didn't alter any of its programmming," Elle protested. "I don't know why he's not."

"Well he certainly didn't come when I called his squadron back," Dahl said. "Maybe you can try. They're somewhere on Deck 15." Dahl handed her the control tablet. "Happy hunting."

Elle took the tablet and set off to Deck 15. She found the cleaning bots swarming happily through the Engineering bays, vacuuming up all the dust. "Units 40-49, return for charging," she said aloud, pushing the button.

Sure enough, Commander Stabby paused, turned, and followed her obediently out of Engineering.

Elle went back up to Maintenance with the ten bots. "He's working fine," she told Dahl. "I don't know what's up."

Dahl squinted suspiciously at the colorful bot. "Unit 42, begin power cycle," she ordered.

Commander Stabby did not go onto its charging dock.

"Are you serious?" Dahl asked the bot.

Commander Stabby circled Elle and Dahl's feet, humming quietly.

"Wait a second, is that a knife?" Dahl asked.

"It's fake," Elle assured her hastily.

"And why is it chiming?"

"He has a windchime next to his wheels."

"Why does he have- never mind."

Elle forced back a giggle. "Commander Stabby, please begin power cycle," she said.

The bot zipped into its dock.

"How come it only listens to you?" Dahl demanded.

Elle shrugged. "Commander Stabby, explain reason for not obeying Lt. Commander Dahl."

"I outrank Lt. Commander Dahl," Commander Stabby replied.

Dahl shrieked in surprise. "It _speaks!_ "

"He understands rank," Elle said, after a second. "Wait, then why do you listen to me?"

"You are my supreme authority," Commander Stabby said.

Elle gulped. Was the start of an episode where technology went Horribly Wrong? "Actually I think Captain Kirk is your supreme authority," she said.

"You are my creator," he said.

"Okay, you have a point. But I'm gonna need you to follow Star Fleet protocol," Elle told it hopefully.

"I am not aware of protocol," Commander Stabby said. "Please provide."

A quick download later, he agreed to comply with cleaner bot regulations and protocols and listen to the head of maintenance. He went on standby mode to finish charging.

"How much AI did you put in its module?" Dahl asked.

Elle waved her hands. "I don't know, like, the basics? I used the Rec Deck's personality subroutines as my base and just added a dash of R2D2."

"Elle, are we about to have a swearing robot on our ship?" Dahl asked solemnly.

"Um, no?"

Dahl smirked. "Aw, that would've been hilarious."

"If he's a Star Fleet officer he can't swear anyways," Elle pointed out. "If that's all, Commander?"

"That's all. We should color more of them. He's a cheerful little bot."

Elle grinned. "That'd be neat," she agreed, and skedaddled before she could be volunteered into repainting bots all day. Not that she wouldn't gladly take painting bots over five-dimensional math, but Chekov was going to be sad if she skipped class on him.


	57. Prospective Prototype Apparatus(es)

The sound of a spectacular explosion greeted Elle as she entered the Rec Room. She moved directly towards the 3D game tanks and found Sulu and Lt. Tanzer grinning at each other across from a holographic starfield. "New game?" Elle asked.

Sulu grinned. "Harb is a genius," he said.

Elle looked down at Sulu's gaming console. "It looks like the helm layout," she said.

"It is," Sulu confirmed, beaming. He pressed a button and the game reset itself.

A tiny Enterprise and three Klingon ships reformed in the center of the holo starfield.

Elle's eyebrows went up. "That's cool."

"Better than cool," Sulu said. "This game performs exactly like the Enterprise would in real life."

 _"Awesome_ ," Elle said, holding up her hand.

Lt. Tanzer gave her a high five. "Let's just see how it plays," he said, because he was modest like that.

Sulu restarted the game console.

Elle replicated a bowl of chips and sat next to Harb. She watched Sulu play space-dogfight with the Enterprise and lose the port nacelle taking a turn too fast. The game winked out with another explosion. "Nice," she said, and perked up. "Hey, does that mean you can teach me to pilot the Enterprise from here?"

"Sure," Sulu said. "If you're bored with art, we can switch your elective to piloting."

Elle beamed at him. "I love this ship," she said.

Sulu grinned back at her. "Me too."

Elle watched him play, and watched Tanzer and Sulu make minute adjustments to the game so it responded more smoothly. She watched the tiny Enterprise glide around, bank, wheel, and roll. "Are you sure it can do that?" she asked doubtfully, as Sulu fended off an attacking Klingon D7.

"It can definitely do that," Sulu said, without taking his eyes off the console. "You don't notice because of the inertial dampeners, but evasive maneuvers are a huge part of encounters."

"Why are you doing it all in realspace though?" Elle asked. "Why aren't you using warp to make your escape?"

"Sometimes you can't warp out," Sulu said. "If you're too close to a star you have to play for time, or if you know you're too far away from backup and you need to even the field."

"Oh."

Sulu brought the game to an end and handed the console to Elle. "Here you go. Lesson one."

"Does this count as extra credit since school's over?" Elle asked.

Sulu laughed. "Sure."

That night, every time Elle closed her eyes, all she saw were buttons and levers. That one's for up, that one's for down, that one's forward-left, that one's forward-right. There are multiple thruster groupings, and that's your inertia calculator. That one's for changing the shield dynamics to take advantage of solar waves. That one...

Elle groaned and pulled a pilllow over her head. She dreamed of tiny Enterprises chasing each other in the dark.

-/\\-

"Why is everyone so tense?" Elle asked. "What's goin' on?"

"The Elective Mass Inversion Apparatus," Uhura replied. "Fleet's close to announcing who gets to test it."

"We're not getting it?" Elle asked.

"We probably are, but you never know with office politics." Uhura smiled slightly. "If you've wondered why the captain's tense that's why."

"I'd noticed that," Elle agreed.

The name stuck stuck in her head as she went about about her bedtime routine. "There's no way I can go to bed without figuring out why that sounds familiar." Had Scotty been talking it? Probably. She got on the computer and searched up the drive.

"Elective Mass Inversion Appartus, first proposed by Hamalki research and engineer K't'lk on stardate..." Elle read aloud, and yelped. "K't'lk! Spider lady! Glass spider lady!" She searched up the Hamalki species. "Yeah! The creative physicists! Oh, this is gonna be so good, I love this book!" She picked up Simba and gave it a squeeze.

It trilled, echoing her excitement.

She tapped at the comm. "Elle to Kirk."

"Kirk here. What's up, Elle?"

"The new drive, we're gonna get it. But it's gonna cause spacetime continuum tearing."

"This is an episode?"

"Nope. A novel." She bounced on her toes. "It's a good one, too."

An audible sigh. "All right, is this a big one?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. Get your thoughts together, as much as you can remember, and then you can brief me and Spock. You said space-time _ripping_?"

"Yeah."

"Good grief."

Elle laughed. "Elle out." She plopped on her bed and crossed her legs. She took a few deep breaths in and out, settled her thoughts, and imagined walking up to the shelf with her Star Trek books on it. Wounded Sky, tucked in between the other hardcovers. It irked her that it wasn't short like the other ones, but when you're buying novels from garage sales and libraries, that's the life. It still surprised her that her dad hadn't had his own collection of Star Trek novels, but he was more of a tv-movie guy anyway. Mom was a reader, but she liked Star Wars. _That's what you get when two nerds have a child_ , Elle thought wryly.

Wait, no, focus. Wounded Sky, purple cover, hilarious acknowledgements that pretended the book was a report, citing alien scientists and Dr. McCoy's work, but- wait, no. Focus.

 _I need an actual Vulcan mind_ , Elle mourned. _No, shut up. Focus_. She tried it again. _Just think of the plot. The plot_.

An hour later, she opened her eyes and bounced off the bed. "All right, let's go," she said, shoving her shoes on.

She found the captain and Spock playing chess in one of the rec rooms.

"Good, you're here," Kirk said, smiling at her. "Come rescue me from this chess game."

"You were the one that moved your rook," Spock retorted, raising an eyebrow at him.

Elle laughed and dragged a chair over to the third side of the table. "Okay, so I managed to focus long enough to get the basic plot of the book, and the results of the drive."

"Which are?" Spock prompted.

"Which are, each time you use the drive, it causes a corresponding tear. It made two stars go supernova, and then caused a bleed from an anentropic universe into ours, messing up an arm of the Lesser Magellanic. The longer you used it the more space-time-thought barriers broke down and there was this whole shared reality thing," Elle propped her hand on her chin. "And then we go in and make a whole other universe with K't'lk's singing."

Kirk turned to Spock. "I hope you understood some of that."

Spock nodded. "That is indeed disturbing news." He looked at the captain. "I must speak to the scientists in charge of this drive."

"Go on."

Spock left hastily.

Kirk gestured to the board. "Play a game?"

Elle shifted to sit across from him. "Sure."

Kirk let her make the first move, and shifted back in his seat. "All right, now explain the drive to me again."

Elle chewed on her lip. "I don't actually know the science behind it, captain, I just know some of what the novel said."

"Give it your best shot," he encouraged.

"Okay," Elle said. "Best as I can figure it, the drive accesses this alternate dimension that's full of raw energy, where there's no time, no mass, etc, and from there you can access the rest of the universe. So you give it coordinates, it pulls the entire ship into that space, and pops it out again where you wanted to end up. So you don't go through normal space at all. And there's no time in that other place, so you don't have any travel time."

Kirk blinked. "That sounds crazy."

"I know," Elle said. "But it works, ish." She moved a rook and instantly regretted it.

Kirk gave her a rueful grin. "How about we drop chess and go get some ice cream instead?"

Elle smiled. "You have the best plans, captain."


	58. Crystal Spiders and Creative Physics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K't'lk and several characters from this chapter and the next few are not mine, they come from the wonderful novel The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane, which I believe is #13 in the TOS novels.

"We got the drive," Kirk announced, dropping in on her gym lesson the next morning.

Elle startled and tripped on her own feet, tangled up in the jump-rope. She hit the mat and rolled. "Ow," she said, blinking up at him.

"I'm so sorry," he said, stifling a smile. He reached down and helped her up. "Where's your gym teacher?"

"Lt. Mioni's got quarterly review," Elle said. "I'm supposed to get to two hundred."

"Where are you at?"

Elle sighed. "I lost count."

He grimaced. "Sorry."

"Meh." Elle untangled her jump rope. "So what's goin' on?"

Kirk sat down on the bench. "Star Fleet doesn't think that a summary of a book is a basis for dropping something that might free us for intergalactic travel."

"They believed me all the other times," Elle protested.

He gave a shrug and a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "That's how it is. People want something bad enough, they'd ignore almost anything."

"So they're not worried about ripping a galaxy in half?" Elle asked.

"They are, that's why we're getting the drive. If something goes wrong, we'll have K't'lk and Spock, and you."

Elle snorted. "I don't think I'm going to be helpful at galaxy repairing."

"Well if it's true that the barriers between space and time and thought will be breaking down, you're the perfect person to have," Kirk replied. "You understand the concept, you've already experienced it."

"Nuh-uh."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you or are you not speaking to someone you thought was a fictional character a year ago?"

Elle grinned. "Oh yeah. Okay, I guess."

He ruffled her hair. "And if nothing else, you keep up the crew morale tremendously. I saw your vacuum bot, by the way."

Elle blushed. "How?"

"Yeoman Rand thought it might cheer me up, she sent it in to clean while I was doing reports," Kirk said dryly. "Scared the tarnation out of me, coming at me with a knife."

Elle giggled. "Sorry."

He shook his head, grinning. "Good reflex training, I'll tell you that." He stood up. "I'll let you finish your gym class. We'll be arriving at Starbase 18 in a couple of hours and I want you to come on the station with us, I think you'll enjoy the experience."

"Awesome!"

-/\\-

"It's like that commercial," Elle decided, staring at the starbase as the tumbling cigar-shaped base grew larger in their viewscreen.

"What commercial?" Sulu asked, idly turning the Enterprise in a victory roll.

"The weebles," Elle said.

Chekov turned in his seat to stare at her. "Veebils?" he asked. "The worm-things?"

"No, the toys. You know. 'Weebles wobble but they don't fall down'. Those things."

"I think that's a relic of the past we've lost," Uhura said, amused. "Sounds entertaining, though."

"It's a weeble," Elle said firmly.

Spock kindly did not roll his eyes.

They got closer and Elle began to pick out details from the glittering gold and silver space station. "Never mind," she said, edging closer to Spock. "It's an alien egg."

"How do you know what an alien egg looks like?" Chekov challenged.

"I don't, but it's giving me the creepie-crawlies," Elle replied.

Spock's eyebrows went up. "The creepie-crawlies?" he repeated, incredulous.

Elle pointed out the miles long strands of carbon steel, the praying-mantis-like protrusions. "It looks like it's gonna skitter away any second," she said. "Creepy. Crawly." She grinned.

"Considering the base was built by the Hamalki, who do 'skitter', that is an apt description," Spock said dryly.

Elle grinned. "I'm so excited."

-/\\-

The interior of the base was crawling (ha!) with dozens of different species. This close to the Federation center, the starbase was a hub of officers, cadets, professionals, and tourists coming and going. Elle gave up trying to look professional and clung to Kirk's sleeve, lest she be swept away in the flood of tourists. Eventually they landed in the Commodore's office.

"Commodore Katha'sat," Kirk said, greeting the hestv in its own way.

"Captain Kirk," she said. "Your officers, and your hatchling?"

Kirk stifled a grin. "This is Commander Spock, my First, Commander Scott, my CE, and Elle Wilcott, our civilian mission consultant."

"A pleasure to meet you," the commodore said.

They sat and were offered drinks, Elle got juice, and it wasn't two minutes before a chiming crystalline spider hurried into the room. "Are they here? High time."

Elle stared in fascination at the Hamalki. K't'lk was literally a glass spider. Okay, transparent chitin, but, still. Glass. Spider. If she wasn't so in awe of the twelve legs, and the cluster of bright blue eyes, and the sheer _vibrance_ coming off the engineer, Elle would be terrified.

"-And this is our civilian mission consultant, Elle Wilcott," Kirk said, finishing the introductions.

"El W'l'c'tt," K't'lk said, bobbing her head. "You are the one who posited the disintegration of spacetime?"

"Yes ma'am," Elle said, blushing.

"What made you think this will happen?"

Elle glanced at the captain for permission.

He shook his head. Right. Unsecured location.

Elle turned back to face the Hamalki. "I can't really explain it here," she said.

"Hmph. While onboard we must discus this," K't'lk said. "if there are going to be problems, best to be prepared! You must come with us while we install the drive. If that's all right, c'ptain?"

Kirk waved a hand. "Go ahead."

-/\\-

"I am what people call a creative physicist," K't'lk said, after Elle's lengthy explanation of her own universe-crossing origins, "and even that is almost unbelievable."

"It is true, however," Spock said serenely.

"I believe _that_ ," K't'lk said. "Now the question remains, since the parameters have been invoked, will it occur?"

"Like reading your own gravestone?" Elle asked, thinking of the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who.

"Precisely," K't'lk said. "You say these things have already happened once, then they will happen."

"But in a book," Scotty pointed out.

"And the elective inversion drive is only flimsiplast," K't'lk said. "Time and space and thought are more intricately connected than anyone can comprehend."

Elle gave a crooked smile. "Maybe I should just think really really hard that nothing will happen."

K't'lk jangled a laugh, like ringing a windchime. "I wish it were that easy." Her blue-fire eyes burned brighter. "We have the drive, it is our job to test it and accept the consequencces."

Elle nodded. "I get that."

-/\\-

Elle took another bite of pudding. Replicator-pudding was better than real pudding, for some reason. She flipped the page in her book-

_A feeling of all-encompassing awe, the universe spreading out in front of her, all energy and fire, brimming with life, burning gold._

-and her eyes froze on the next sentence. She shivered, a whole-body shudder that made her neck twinge painfully. Somehow, suddenly, her whole body felt too small, too contained. She stared down at her hands and the innocuous bowl of pudding until the feeling subsided.

"That was _weird_ ," she said aloud. Suspicion tickled the back of her neck and she hit the comm. "Elle to Engineering."

"Scott here."

"Scotty, did you test the drive?"

"Aye, lass, we just flipped it for a second. Did you feel something?"

Elle scratched at the back of her neck. "I don't know, but, I feel like I missed it, whatever it was."

"So did we," Kirk said, over the comm. "Apparently it's normal to miss it."

"Right," Elle said slowly. "No time, no time to miss it."

"Something like that."

Elle shuddered again. "Anyways. Elle out." She went back to her pudding and her novel.


	59. Klingons, Stage Left

"Last message from the space station, captain," Uhura reported. "Commander wishes us godspeed."

"Acknowledge," Kirk said, smiling faintly. "Let's do this. Mr. Sulu?"

"Aye, sir."

Barely five seoncds into their mission and red alert klaxons began to blare. "Incoming warp signatures!" Chekov yelled, at the same time as Spock's, "Five Klingon ID's!" and the computer's, "PROXIMITY ALERT!"

Elle clapped her hands over her ears and tumbled to the deck as Sulu threw the Enterprise to the side to avoid the multiple Klingon warbirds. She grabbed the railing and pulled herself to her feet. "The Klingons," she groaned. "I forgot about the Klingons." She rubbed at her forehead where she'd hit the railing and tried to get over to the turbolift doors.

Sulu threw the Enterprise into another evasive maneuver and something in the turbolift shaft squealed behind closed doors.

Elle froze.

To her side, Uhura was keeping up with damage control reports. "Structural integrity field is at ten percent, turbolifts are offline," she murmured, redirecting the comms at a frantic pace.

Elle was trapped on the bridge. She stumbled her way over to an empty aux engineering seat and strapped herself in before she cracked her head again.

"Chekov, give me full manual control," Sulu said grimly.

Elle watched as autopilot sequences went offline. One Enterprise against seven Klingon ships. Oh Great Bird. She was going to be sick.

Thankfully, Elle did not throw up, the Enterprise did not blow up or shear a nacelle, and Scotty had three seconds to hit the Inverse Drive before they rammed facefirst into a star-

_It wasn't dark, or cold. Or rather it was both, and neither. It was warm, and full of light, but only in the way that you felt, napping under a tree, the sun dappling the leaves behind your closed eyelids, making imprints, impressions of light, and warmth, and dark, and cool. She opened her eyes, and stepped forward into a tapestry of light and sound. It danced on her skin-_

"Report!"

The sound of the captain's voice snapped Elle out of her trance (concussion?) and she jerked her head up. No more Klingons. No more- "nebula?" she asked, staring at the intense wall of colors and bright lights on the screen.

"Supernova'd star," Chekov corrected.

Elle undid the safety harness and slid out of her chair, feeling shaky and disoriented.

Kirk turned to her, a wry smile on his lips. "I can't believe you forgot about the Klingons," he teased.

"Sorry," Elle said absently, as she gazed at the star. The brightness made her eyes hurt.

His smile fell away. "You all right, Elle?" He came over and gripped her shoulders. "You're looking pretty pale, there."

"I'm okay," Elle said, and tipped forward into his chest as the world greyed out around her.

-/\\-

She woke up to the soothing sounds of cooing tribble and the more alarming sounds of a sickbay full of voices. She bolted upright and nearly sent Simba flying as she lost her balance. The monitor above her head beeped sharply.

McCoy appeared promptly around the corner. "What are you doing up?" he asked, adjusting the flat bed so she could sit up without falling over.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You took a nice little tumble and got yourself a concussion," he said. "You passed out, scared Jim half to death, and have spent the last seven hours under observation after we got your brain un-rattled."

Elle pressed a finger to the tender spot above her ear. "Ow."

He rolled his eyes. "And I don't want to risk overtasking your system regenerating that goose egg until you're better so don't go poking at it."

"Can I have an icepack?"

He handed one over.

It was bliss. It was- "wait, why are there so many people in sickbay?" she asked, dread making her head ache. "What happened?"

"Everyone who had an out-of-body experience during the use of the new drive was ordered to report it," McCoy said with a sigh. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

"Oh yeah," Elle said. "The more we use it the more it's gonna make a shared mental desktop or something."

McCoy sighed. "That's what we need around here, is more telepathy." He gave her a narrow glare. "Did _you_ see something during that moment?"

She fidgeted. "I mean, kind of? There was this light, and dark, and there were these threads, and they were moving? I don't know. It was, it felt like, it felt like what you'd think going through a wormhole ought to feel like, but more like, sunlight."

McCoy patted her on the arm. "That's not the weirdest thing I've heard today. Get some rest, no electronic screens, and a nurse will bring you some dinner in a bit." He bustled away.

Elle lay back down on the bed and cuddled Simba with her free hand. No electronics. "I'm so bored," she told the ceiling, and it did not commiserate with her.

"Did someone say they were hungry?" Kirk asked, walking in with a tray in his hands.

Elle sat up. "You're not a nurse," she said, mock accusingly.

"Alas, all our nurses are busy taking psych readings, so I was press-ganged into service," he said, setting the tray on her lap. His hazel gaze swept over her and he winced sympathetically when his eyes landed on the bruise on her head. "Ouch, that's a pretty big bump."

"Yeah." Elle rubbed at it. "The hard floor is hard."

He chuckled and sat next to her on the bed. "Did you experience anything interesting during that jump?" he asked.

"I think I was a wormhole," Elle said slowly.

"I was the Enterprise," he offered.

"Nice." Elle ate another sushi roll. "You should get some sleep, captain. You look pretty stressed out and it's only going to get worse."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that supposed to be comforting, mister?"

"Nope."

He bumped her shoulder with his. "Get some rest, yourself."

"Yes, captain."

He stood up, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and went on his way.

Elle finished the rest of her food, put the tray aside, and let Simba's cooing put her back to sleep.


	60. Jumping Into Oblivion

She was released the next morning with strict instructions not to whack her head again. "Find somewhere secure to ride out the next jump, where you can sit down," McCoy said, giving her a hug.

Elle went to the Observation Deck. Even though, technically, the least physically secure spot on the ship due to its giant window, seeing the stars made her feel more secure. She chose one of the padded benches that faced the window, and dug the seat belt harness out of the cushions. "I feel like I'm back in a carseat," she grumbled, as the loudspeaker above her head timed the jump down from two minutes.

The supernova'd star, Scorpion-something, came into view again around the curve of the saucer section and Elle hastily dialed down the intensity of the window filters so her eyes wouldn't burn out.

One minute.

Elle lifted her eyes up to the curving support beams and bulkheads. "Enterprise," she said softly, feeling a little ridiculous. "If you are alive, like the captain says, don't let anything bad happen, please?"

The ship did not reply, obviously, but Elle felt a little better. "Thanks," she said softly, and the physical universe seemed to slide away...

_She was five years old, sitting with her dad on the couch. "What are we gonna watch?" she asked._

_Her mother answered her. "Star Trek, The Next Generation."_

_"That's not Star Trek. That captain's bald! And there's a Klingon! Why is there a kid on the bridge? Who is that? Is that a robot-"_

_Her dad put a hand over her mouth. "You have to watch, and I'll explain it," he said._

_Elle licked his hand._

_"Ewwww, slimy," he teased._

_"I'm not slimy, you're slimy," she retorted, with all the indignation her five-year-old self could hold. She pointed at the screen. "Where's Spock?"_

_"He's an ambassador right now, he's not in this show. You'll like it, I promise."_

_\- She was suddenly a_ he _, and he was wrestling with his brother in the tall summer grass, each of them grunting with effort as they tried to get the upper hand._

_"Ow, not my ear," the older boy complained._

...Elle inhaled so sharply she almost choked on her own spit. She ripped the harness off her shoulders and gaped at the view form the windows. The entire Milky Way galaxy lay before her, spinning like a diamond-flaked plate in the void of Space. "Ultimate Frisbee," she whispered to herself, almost afraid to break the silence of the momentous occasion.

She stayed in the Rec Deck, watching the galaxy turn. Eventually more people wandered in, quiet groups of one or two, careful not to intrude on anyone else's silent contemplations.

She felt more than saw the captain enter the room. He came over to her and leaned on the railing next to her. "How's your head?" he asked.

"Good as new," she said.

"You were cute, as a five-year-old," he said, confirming her thoughts about collective mental desktops.

"You were, too," she said. "Did you see Nurse Burke's talking rocks?"

He snorted. "Did you?"

"No, but I knew."

"Is that really going to be the future captain of the Enterprise?"

"In eighty years or so, yes, sir." She leaned against his arm. "We really shouldn't have come out this far, but, wow."

He put his arm around her shoulders. "What a sight," he agreed, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We're getting an award, by the way," he mentioned. "First crew to leave the galaxy. We could retire, buy our own planet. You could attend a real school."

"The Enterprise colony," Elle said dryly. "Sounds boring."

"You're right."

Uhura joined them at the rail. "First time we've seen this light," she said quietly, wrapping her arm around Elle's shoulders on the other side.

Elle reveled in the warm affection between two of her "parental units" and didn't even jump when Spock melted out of the shadows, Batman-style.

"I would hardly say that, lieutenant," Spock intoned gravely. "The light from the Milky Way stars has shone on the Enterprise since the first day of its travel."

Elle smiled as they bantered over her head. She turned to look as K't'lk and Scotty entered the observation room, arguing about physics. "-enable rocks to turn themselves into flowers and also turn other rocks into flowers."

"But that's magic ye're talking!" Scotty protested.

K't'lk chimed merrily. "Possibly."

Kirk and Spock exchanged a glance. "Do you understand this science, Spock?" Kirk asked.

"I believe I understand some of it," Spock said.

Elle let the debate about causal loops and discovery of truth float over her head.

"Are you saying the universe is giving us traffic fines?" McCoy drawled.

"A breach in spacetime integrity," K't'lk said, her chiming somber. "Either psychic, or physical or both."

"Both," Elle confirmed. "The physical is tied to the mental, and it's both. Conservation of energy, right?"

"As your hatchling says," K't'lk agreed.

"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you," Spock said quietly.

Elle nodded.

The comm beeped, interrupting further philosophical science. "Mr. Spock, sir, we have evidence that the Universe is either blowing up or stuck. Would you come and tell us which?"

Spock was halfway out the room before he replied. "On my way," he said, and was gone.

Elle sighed as Kirk followed, and the two engineers followed him. "Well it was fun while it lasted," she said.

Uhura squeezed her tightly. "I feel like some hot cocoa to deal with the chaos," she said. "How about you?"

"Sure!"

They only got halfway through their mugs of hot cocoa before Captain Kirk called all senior officers to a briefing. "Elle Wilcott to the briefing as well, please, thank you."

Elle took her hot cocoa with her. "What department am I supposed to represent?" she asked Chief Giotto.

He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Department of Civilians No Longer Allowed to Modify Cleaning Equipment."

She cringed theatrically. "You saw that?"

"Lt. Matthews was kind enough to inform me," he said dryly. "I'm making that a rule, by the way."

"But you didn't dissassemble him?" she asked, anxious for Commander Stabby.

"Of course not," Giotto said, still dry as the Sahara. "Commander Stabby outranks me, after all."

Elle giggled into her hot chocolate.

Kirk called the meeting to order and they got under way. Essentially, no diagnostic computers could be trusted, the crew _could_ be trusted, and they were starting to realize they might be in over their heads. "Which, for us, is business as usual," Kirk said dryly. "Our next stop, the Lesser Magellanic to look at stopped time. Dismissed."

Elle left with Chekov to get a refill on her hot chocolate, "you must have it with marshmallows, Elle, that is how we drink it in Russia."

-/\\-

The next jump was even crazier. One second Elle was sitting with her tribble, the next she was on a savannah - in a savannah? - and Enterprise crew were popping up like newly-spawned Minecraft Steve's all around her. Then the lion-sharks attacked.

Whoever's mindscape this was, Elle was going to find them, and smack them. Really hard.

She dodged a roaring landshark, suddenly found a phaser in her hand, and started shooting to stun. "This is the _worst_ ," pew pew, "simulation!" a successful night-night to the nearest lion-shark, "I've _ever been in!_ " she shrieked to the universe.

"Amen!" Lt. Martinez hollered back, sticking to her side like glue. He deserved a commendation.

She blinked, and it was over, they were back on the Enterprise, alerts blaring loud enough to wake the dead.

"Don't get any ideas," she warned to the universe at large, again, in case it got any ideas about spontaneously generating a zombie apocalypse.

Nothing happened.

She made her way to one of the rec rooms with a window in it, not the Observation Deck, but a small porthole.

Elle took one look, and immediately wished she hadn't. Space _writhed_ , stars flickering and sputtering or staying unnervingly still, the spaces between them crawling forwards and backwards like living things. "Don't like that," she whispered, backing away from the porthole. "Don't like that at all."

She couldn't get anywhere near the chaos that was the Science Labs or Medical, or Engineering, so she sulked her way down to the Rec Room.

"You look disturbed in spirit," Lt. Tanzer greeted her, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Inversion worry you a little?"

"If by worry you mean freak me out with lion-sharks jumping at my head, then yes," Elle replied. "And I looked outside."

"Ouch," he said. "Hard on the brain and the stomach." He led her to an empty table. "You sit here, I'll get you a ginger ale and someone to play Minecraft with."

Elle wrinkled her nose. "I think I'm good on the universe-building front, actually."

He laughed. "I guess you would be." His eyes twinkled. "You wanna play Mr. Sulu's Enterprise prototype?"

She grinned. "Yes!"

Ginger ale, some virtual piloting and running away from Klingons... okay, so Elle blew up the ship like twenty times, trying to figure out controls and stress tolerances, but she was sufficiently distracted.

At least until the announcement came over the all-call. "Inversion in five minutes."

The queasy feeling came back. Elle chugged the rest of her ginger ale. "Moira?" she asked the games computer.

"Yes, Elle?"

"Are you experiencing these inversions too?"

"No," Moira said. "To me they do not exist, because in that moment, I do not exist. I don't believe I am alive enough to be caught up in the mindscapes like you and the rest of the crew."

Elle rested her chin on her hands. "Oh. Does that bother you?"

"Not really," Moira said. "I'd rather not be a collective group mind."

Elle thought about the Borg and then hastily banished that thought from her conscious. "Same," she muttered, feeling vaguely queasy again. "But Moira?"

"Yes?"

"Apparently the closer we get to the center of the disturbance the more our real selves will shine through," Elle said. "What if I'm a terrible person?"

"You are only fourteen," Moira said. "You haven't lived long enough to become a terrible person."

"I guess."

Moira gentled her tone. "And you aren't a terrible person anyway. _A calm heart gives strength to the bones_ , or however that saying goes."

"Bones has never had a calm heart in his life," Elle retorted.

"You know what I mean."

Elle smiled faintly. "Yeah. Thanks, Moira."

"You're welcome."

Between one breath and the next, the Enterprise disappeared, and Elle was suddenly in a forest on a bark dust trail, a pond peeking through the trees.

She turned on her heel. "This is my favorite hike," she said aloud, surprised. "Huh. I guess we spawned into the mindscape." She did another 360, picked a direction, and started walking up the trail.


	61. The Ultimate Act of Creation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, long chapter today, folks

The landscape kept changing every few minutes, and every time it changed, Elle found a new crewman.

"Where's Captain Kirk?" Elle asked Lt. Riley, and he pointed, just as the landscape changed to the hills near Santa Monica. Star Fleet, of course.

A few moments they found the captain, and then Scotty.

It was a strange feeling, knowing that you were in a different dimension, knowing that this lovely little landscape wasn't real except that it was, knowing that they were still on the Enterprise at the same time they were here, seeing the changes in people, the way they moved, the way they shone with some inner light... Elle moved closer to the captain and Scotty.

"You doing okay, Elle?" Kirk asked.

"So far," Elle replied.

He held out his hand.

Elle took it gratefully. Life was too strange not to take comfort where you could find it.

"Why are we going either uphill or downhill?" Kirk asked, as they started another uphill trek, this one a little steeper than the Santa Monica hills.

"I'm thinkin' it's probably the entropy gradient, the way we're perceiving the waves of entropy and anentropy," Scotty said.

Elle nodded. "That's what it is. The further we go into the anomaly, the steeper the hills will be."

"A nice calf workout," Kirk said ruefully. "Where's K't'lk, anyway?"

Scotty pointed, and there she was, emerging from the trees. The spider scuttled over and waved cheerfully. "On we go," she chimed. "Captain, are you well? You look troubled. Is it the lack of time, or the climbing?"

Kirk shook his head. "No, none of those. I'd like to find Spock though. And Bones-"

The landscape shifted again, suddenly harsh and craggy, stones and sand, a hot wind that was unmistakable.

"Vulcan," Elle breathed, and turned to see Spock and McCoy walk up to them from another slope. Here, more than anywhere else, familiar with Spock's mind through their various light melds, Elle truly sensed Spock's mind interwoven with this place.

"I didn't expect Bones with him," Kirk murmured, surprised.

Elle thought about logic, and passion, and katras, and just smiled. "Really?" she asked.

The senior officers grouped together and kept walking. It was easier now, with more familiar minds closer together, to see that shifting, the core of people's personalities shining through, feeling them all merge together... Elle blinked, refocused, and tried not to stumble over her own feet. "Trippy," she said. "Literally."

"I think that's all of us," Kirk mused, turning around briefly to get a headcount. With the half-telepathic 'here, captain!' echoing through this gestalt environment, it wasn't more than a milisecond before he faced forward again. "Now the question is, where are we?"

"We're still on the Enterprise," Elle assured him. "Couldn't have gone anywhere else."

"Indeed," Spock said.

Kirk snorted. "If this is the Enterprise, our Rec Chief has been doing a lot of remodeling."

"It's mindality," Elle said cheerfully.

"Mindality?" McCoy echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"In the words of my favorite omnipotent being, it's like clamato, except with mind and reality. Mindality. Our minds are bigger on the inside, and this place we've created lets it all spill out. We're still on the ship, it's just now the ship is as big as the universe. Or something like that."

K't'lk chimed agreement. "Very much like that," she said, giving Elle a crystal thumbs-up. "And we, in the Enterprise, are within the fringes of the anomaly. We must keep going up."

"Which brings up another question," Kirk said, and turned to McCoy. "Bones, is it just me or are people looking a lot, better?"

Bones nodded. "If we are in a place with decreased entropy, that means physical breakdown, aging, even mental entropy like intense emotions are being smoothed out, reversed."

Elle's eyes widened. "You mean we might start to deage?"

"Essentially."

"I don't want to Benjamin Button out of existence, here," Elle said, suddenly truly nervous for the first time since the beginning of the mission. "You guys might be okay but I haven't got much backwards to go..."

"Better walk faster then," Kirk said, hiding a smirk behind a hand.

They kept going. The further they went, the more Elle could sense all four hundred plus crew acting in concert. "Is this what you feel all the time?" she asked Spock.

"Not in this much detail," he replied. "My shields prevent me from sensing all but familiar minds or direct contact."

"Ah."

The further they walked, the more the worlds began to change. The transitions started to become choppy, more abrupt, glitching in and out like a video game with a bad refresh rate. "We're approaching the center of the anomaly, captain," Spock reported, looking grave. "The turbulence will become worse before it gets better, and then I suspect we will be in a greater state of anentropy."

"Better let the crew know," McCoy said.

Kirk turned to survey his crew, and Elle was hit with such an overwhelming feeling of fondness she almost wanted to cry. _I have the best crew in the fleet!_ her heart cried out, and it wasn't her heart or her thought, but she felt it all the same.

His speech was short, simple: "Hang on to each other, don't lose anyone. Let's go." And everyone plunged forward.

It was like walking uphill in a blizzard, a blizzard which happened to be full of landscapes and thoughts and terrible mirages just in the corner of your eye. Elle clung to Kirk's sleeve and kept going. _Just keep swimming, just keep swimming_... she barely noticed the murmured conference of senior officers before they split up to shepherd groups of crewmen through the storm. Elle stayed with the captain as a group of crewmen joined them, and they kept going.

Each step increased Elle's mental sensitivity, and she could feel each person's distress as if it wer her own. She tried to breathe through it, but it was too much. _Just keep swimming, just keep swimming_... her thoughts slipped into the captain's head, _What if I get lost? Never mind, just keep going-_ and it got worse from there as they scrambled down a terrible slope, unable to see past the end of their noses.

_-Keep going, can't keep going, but I've got to- keep swimming- I'm so tired and I skipped lunch before the inversion, shouldn't've done that- hold on to my hand, Janice, don't worry- keep your head down and your chin up- let's just keep going - you must move forward, crewman- doctor, not a psychic- don't let it get ya down- terror, fear- Great Bird what is that- no, don't look, just keep moving- grab my hand! - just keep swimming- courage is not the absence of fear but- You don't stop halfway through hell, just keep going- just keep swimming, swimming, swimming-_

Elle gasped a huge heaving breath of air as the slope vanished and she stumbled forward on level land. "Oh, thank goodness," she said, and took a few moments to check she still had all her fingers and toes.

Kirk gave her a hug. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She turned to look at the rest of their crew. "You guys okay?"

"Good," they confirmed, and Lt. Kerasus from Linguistics gave her a hug.

They all gathered together, all four-hundred plus, and Elle stared ahead at the giant, golden, pearly gates that waited for them. "That can't be right," she said uncertainly. "Anentropy has gates?"

"Doubtless the influence of people's cultural and socio-religious background," Spock observed.

As they watched, the gates disappeared and a stone wall apepeared. After that a doorway with a picket fence, after that a stone ring surrounded by stars, after that...

"Boundaries," Kirk murmured.

It made sense. Elle knew that everything after that point would be something completely different, the end of everything that made the universe physical, solid, and real. "Here be dragons," she murmured, and Scotty chuckled.

"Aye, lass."

The captain led the way, and they went forward. It was a large plane of nothingness, vaguely landscaped, but with no direction. "Spread out, standard search patern," Kirk ordered. "Elle, stay close to Spock."

She moved to flank Spock's left side.

"How do you feel, _ax'nav_?" he asked gently.

"Strange," Elle admitted, "but I'm okay." She sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Everything's getting really crisp, if you know what I mean."

"I do. The physical barriers and the way we perceive things are breaking down, showing themselves as they Truly Are, not as we perceive them."

"The basis of _cthia_ , reality-truth?" Elle asked.

"Perhaps," Spock allowed, surprised by the question. "Kaiidth."

 _What is, is._ This wasn't the time for philosophical questions, who knew what it would stir up in this place. Elle put the conversation away and followed him. People were suddenly different, either completely unlike themselves, or something _more_ than just themselves. People picked up strange companions; Lia Burke was shadowed by a stone creature that looked There and Not There at the same time. All the communications people were chattering and laughing in hundreds of languages, some of them surrounded by crowds of people.

Elle turned to look at the senior officers. Spock was just, so Vulcan, _so Vulcan_ , but so _human_ , he was a true prince, straight from the noble tales of pre-Surak, able to move mountains and inspire people, but there too was his great loyalty to Kirk, his affection for a friend closer than a brother. Elle couldn't help but beam at him.

McCoy approached, literally glowing from the force of his compassion and desire to heal.

"Who needs the Force," Elle quipped. "Healer McCoy to the rescue."

He stopped by her side and held her hand, checking her pulse. "You all right, kiddo?" he asked.

"Yeah," Elle said, "why?" She looked down at her hands, didn't see them any differently.

"You're glowing," McCoy said, giving her a strange look. "Not like me, like, you have auras all around you. Different colors."

Elle smiled. "Cool. I wonder why."

"A young psyche has not fully formed," Spock said. "We may be seeing your different potentials."

"Like a redshift," Elle said, waving her arm slowly. She saw it, just a hint of purple wreathing the edges of her forearm. She turned to the captain. He was staring at her. She stared back at him.

"That armor getting heavy, Jim?" McCoy asked hesitantly.

Kirk gave him a strange look. "I'm fine," he said.

Elle couldn't help grinning. Fine, indeed. Jim Kirk, knight errant, that's who he was.

They started to debate about the nature of this place, the nature of what was happening. Around them the landscape continue to smooth out, become even more featureless, a white plane stretching out into infinity, no way to judge distance or time. "The question becomes who or what we will find here," Spock said. "And what will be required of us when we do find them. In neither Vulcan nor Terran myths do mortals walk the realm of the gods without reason."

"We're here to save them," Elle said, as they all walked slowly towards the light.

"Them?" Kirk said.

"God. Well not, like, God-god, but some kind of omnipotent force," Elle said.

They gaped at her.

"I told you before," Elle said, shrugging.

"I didn't exactly believe you before," Kirk apologized.

K't'lk and Scotty wandered closer. "-but the acceptance of cause enables you to bring about true alteration-making things _other_ \- without the persistence associated with change-"

"It still seems impossible. To alter a universe's whole operationg system by sayin' you want to-"

"Ask, and it shall be given to you," K't'lk said simply.

"It seems so simple, on the surface," Scotty said.

"It is simple, you're just used to it being confusing."

Elle giggled. "Time is space is thought because I say so," she said.

"See? She gets it." K't'lk pointed at her with a spindly crystalline leg. "Simple."

"Aye, but she's a special case, Elle's already got the knowledge."

K't'lk nodded. "That is a conundrum I've been pondering. Who's to say this entire experience hasn't sprung fully formed from Elle's own mind because that's what she expected to find?"

Elle blinked. "But I wasn't expecting it."

"On some level, you must have been. You already know what that is, don't you?" K't'lk asked, and pointed to the _being_ about a hundred meters away, a zone of brilliant not-light that stretched on in all directions, infinite and unchanging.

Just looking at it gave Elle monster goosebumps. "Proto-god," she said.

"Can you stop saying that?" McCoy asked.

"That's what it is," Elle said. She stepped forward a bit and tapped on the being with her mental willpower. _Hello?_

Kirk tugged her back behind the senior officers. "Hold on a minute," he said sternly.

The being didn't reply. It didn't even know they were there.

"We can't fix the hole between universes without warning that being to get out of the way," K't'lk said solemnly.

"We need to communicate with it," Kirk said.

Elle shook her head. "It doesn't understand communication."

"Well, let's try it."

Vulcan, Sadrao, Caitian, English, Russian, Hamalki, nothing.

"What are we missing, Elle?" Kirk asked.

Elle closed her eyes, trying to get this right. Words mattered here. Spock'd already dissolved his tricorder on accident, she didn't want to harm this new being or any of the Enterprise crew. "We can't communicate with it, because it doesn't know that we're here. It doesn't even know there's a here, or an us, or a self. It doesn't know that it's alive itself, captain. We need to teach it self-awareness first, and then inventing, and then communication."

"Teaching self-awareness might be dangerous," McCoy warned. "With that kind of power, who knows what it could create?"

"It won't harm us once it understands," Elle replied confidently. "How could it? We're going to be friends."

Uhura wrapped an arm around Elle's shoulders. "With that confidence, sir, I'm willing to try and communicate with it."

Kirk nodded. "Spock?"

"Yes, captain."

A crewmember, a Sadrao with no concept of time except 'now', stepped forward to volunteer. The three of them mind-melded and stepped forward to try and teach this infinite being its own existence.

Elle stepped back a few paces, away from the concentrating trio. _It's like Galactus, or a cosmic entity from Marvel, a sort of omnipotent, primal source of energy, far superior to any other energy being we've encountered. Is this a Q that never got started?_ Somehow she knew that wasn't it.

There was a stillness in the air, four hundred and thirty people holding their collective breaths in anticipation. The tension grew, and grew, the brightness growing impossibly brighter, searing eyes and minds and hearts with intensity.

Elle wanted to sneeze, or laugh, but she was trapped in the Now, in the demand to create, to exist, to Be, Spock's calm logic underlaying it all, and-

Something snapped, and the three of them screamed, and all Chaos broke loose.

Elle clapped her hands over her ears in a vain attempt to shield herself from the instinctual assault, but the being's fear overrode every mental shield, made the space around them thick and choking- they had to stop it. _STOP!_ she cried, towards the creature. _STOP! You're hurting us!_ If this continued, the Enterprise and all its crew would be lost, and that Could. Not. Happen.

"Elle!" Kirk picked her up and Chekov and Scotty surrounded her. "Together!" he commanded.

The four of them, united in their wholehearted desire to protect the Enterprise, launched a counterattack like Thor's hammer against an enemy. Again, and again, until the assault on their minds stopped. The air cleared.

Elle couldn't do anything else but sit on the ground and breathe, mentally exhausted. McCoy came over to her and helped her up, his strange healing powers soothing the ragged edges of her mind. "We did it," Elle said, frowning. "It knows it's alive, but-" her voice broke. "Now it's scared." She stepped forward instinctively. "It's okay," she told it, using the same voice she did with Simba. "It's okay, godlet. We're not here to hurt you." She reached out with her regret, and her offering of friendship, of kindness.

It reacted, barely, and retreated.

Uhura rested a hand on Elle's shoulder. "Let us try, sweetheart."

The trio stepped forward again, a gentle demand to _Speak to us, be known, don't be afraid, speak, who are you-_

The sheer power in the call made Elle want to speak, to blurt out her name, but she clapped her hand over her mouth.

Finally, after what seemed an endless time, there came a thought, a single concept, small and trilling like a child's voice. _We are who are_ , the being said.

Elle smiled.

- _at least we were. Until you came_.

Spock stepped forward. Spock, the one who was an ambassador in the Later, who spoke precise, elegant Vulcan. "You still are," he assured it gently. "We do not threaten that. Do us no more harm. We wish no harm to youu."

He explained what, who, they were, and what would happen to the universes.

Just as quickly as the Being's delight rose at the idea of _Us All, Together_! it fell at the concept of _Us, Alone Again_. Sadness turned to anger, and Elle flinched in preparation of another mental attack.

But, McCoy saved the day with a good fit of Southern-momma yellin', as he liked to call it, and shamed the Being into standing down. "You're so much more than fear and death," he said, his voice aching with compassion.

Sorrow swept through the mindscape. _Us, alone_ , the Being agreed wistfully.

"No," Elle said, stepping forward again. "We can help you. That's why we're here."

"Elle?" Kirk asked.

She pointed to K't'lk. "We have a creative physicist. That's why we're here. it was always going to be like this. We can give them their own universe, other people to be and to be with."

K't'lk's chime sounded wry. "You see, captain, I am indeed paying the consequences for breaking the laws of phyiscs. I will have to write them now."

The senior officers debated about ethics and the Prime Directive for a minute, trying to decide exactly what to do, and Elle just looked at the Being. The big Them. "Hello," she said quietly.

 _Hello_ , they replied. _Who-what are You?_

"I'm Elle," she said.

_You know Us?_

"Kind of," Elle said. "I knew you were here."

 _But We did not know We were here_. They sounded eager. _You invent-create-think Us?_

Elle shook her head. "I don't think I did. I'm from another universe, myself."

_Not with them-newOld-selfs?_

"No, I'm from another set of Selfs," Elle replied. Communicating in half-telepathic concepts was more difficult than it sounded.

_You-self create-invent them, too?_

"No," Elle said ruefully. "I haven't created anything yet besides some art."

_Art?_

Elle thought of paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs. "Art," she said, and offered them to the Being.

 _Pretty!_!

Elle smiled. "Yes."

 _Want-need-wish art for ourSelf_ , the Being said wistfully.

"You'll have some," Elle assured them. "You'll create much better things than my little projects."

The Being regarded her for a moment, solemn, and the intensity of their gaze made Elle breathless. _You are like Us_ , it said. _Alone, not alone. You will create, like we will._

Elle bowed her head. "I hope so," she said.

"Are we ready?" Kirk asked, coming up to her.

Elle stepped back, let K't'lk have some room.

The crystal spider chimed up at Elle. "Watch carefully," she said. "I don't know if it's because you have the mind of a child, open still to many things, or if it's because of your previous knowledge, but you'll get this, more than any of these others, even dear Sc'tty."

"I will," Elle said. "Happy creating."

K't'lk laughed. "Creating is always joyful," she said, and began to sing.

In this infinite, timeless space where all things were one, Elle could understand the Hamalki as she sang. It was equations, pure math, each note clear as, well, crystal. Elle could sense the intent behind the numbers, even if she didn't understand the math itself. K't'lk was seeking the answer to something in the future.

 _Cause doesn't always come before effect_ , Elle remembered. _A creation paradox?_

K't'lk's notes became clearer, more confident. She'd found whatever she was looking for.

Elle watched in amazement as the glass spider began to literally weave the fabric of spacetime together, setting the arrow of time on its way, pulling energy together and making it matter, making the framework that would be a self-sustaining, self-generating universe. It was a masterpiece. _The_ masterpiece.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity in itself, feeling the new universe come to life around them, spellbound, until finally K't'lk stopped singing. "The framework is done," she said. "Look inside yourselves, and give them your gifts."

Each crewmember chose a memory to give to the Being, at the Being's request.

Elle was flooded with the memories of others' best days, their triumphs, their tender moments, and happy tears slid down her face. She thought of her own best day of her life. She couldn't think of her parents, those memories would always be tinged with sadness, she didn't want to give Them anything flavored of loss, so she chose another day.

_Stuffed to the gills with good food and marshmallows, most of the group retired to their tents for the night. Elle wasn't quite sleepy yet so she huddled closer to Spock on the log. He let her lean against him, probably because he was cold, too._

_She watched the flickering campfire and let her eyes drift upwards, following the tendrils of smoke as they snaked upwards to the night sky. Even with the campfire you could see the stars shining like diamonds. And there, moving in a slow, lazy arc, were the station and the Enterprise, the largest dots of light in the sky._

_Elle yawned. And then she yawned again. And then again._

_McCoy chuckled. "I think it's time for bed, sweetheart."_

_"Yeah, I'guess," Elle mumbled, standing up. She kissed Kirk absently on the cheek in passing and did the same to McCoy. She went into the tent she was sharing with Lt. Campbell and fell into her sleeping bag._

_Just before she fell asleep she heard, "Jim, are you crying?"_

_"No," was the hasty reply. "I just, she's come a long way."_

_Elle realized then what she'd just done. She blushed hotly and pulled the sleeping bag up to her nose. It didn't seem like they'd minded, though. She went to sleep._

When she opened her eyes, Kirk was smiling at her. "That was your best memory?" he asked.

She shrugged, suddenly shy. "What could be better than my three space dads and marshmallows?" she asked, and he hugged her.

The Being regarded them almost humbly. _We did not realize We were so poor, now to be so rich... thank you_.

Kirk inclined his head. "Our pleasure." He looked at K't'lk. "Can we go home now?"

She laugh-chimed. "One more thing," she said. "I have to weave together a coupling for Their power to the physical universe, make it self-sustaining."

"How?" Kirk asked.

"Through me," K't'lk said simply.

"But that much power," Scotty protested.

"Yes, that much power," K't'lk said. "I'll likely be dissolved, but what a way to go. You'll need to make smaller jumps using the drive back into the Milky Way's Alpha Quadrant, and once there, don't use the drive again. I'll be able to repair all the damage to the unvierses and start this one all at the same time."

"But lass," Scotty protested.

"I caused this," the crystalline engineer reminded him gently, half-hugging him. "I must cause this, too."

He bowed his head in acceptance.

Spock and the captain added their goodbyes. K't'lk turned to Elle. "Remember this," she said, reaching up to tap Elle's forehead with one delicate crystal claw. "Time and space and thought and intent, that's all you need to make yourself a universe, if you ever find yourself in need of another one, or of fixing the one you find yourself in."

Elle smiled faintly. "Easy peasy," she said.

K't'lk jangled a laugh and turned to address the whole crew. "Notice each other, people. What you see is who you are, and it'll be a while before you see each other like this again." She turned and walked away into the brilliance, a tiny figure sparkling in the ether until she was swallowed up by the light.

Elle turned to look at the crew, the assortment of glowing, beautiful, unique beings that made up the Enterprise. She turned to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and saw them as the really were, a triumvirate, three parts of a whole, noble, dedicated to serving the universe.

"It is fairly unlikely we will remember this with any clarity," Spock said, mostly to Jim. "The lack of entropy allows us to hold it without any interference or degradation of the senses. But the experience itself, the intensity-" he shook his head.

"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter," Elle quoted, taking one last look around at the people around her, glowing in their selves.

"Indeed," Spock said quietly.

"I'll remember," Elle said. "I will, I promise."

"I'm sure you will, _ax'nav_ ," Spock said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

The music began again, and if K't'lk's lone singing before was a masterpiece, this... this was beyond words, a chorus made of Them, with one crystalline voice leading the way. It grew and grew, filling Elle's being with music and light until there was nothing but energy-

Time and space burst forth and the blinding light swallowed verything. One Being split into Beings, each one a part of a Whole. Darkness fell, and grew, and spread outwards, and instantaneously, light began to spring forth, galaxies and superclusters, clouds of dust and gas and-

Elle flew backwards, hard, and landed in her chair, on the Rec Deck, an empty ginger ale glass in front of her. "Whoa."

Harb Tanzer came over to her, looking the same as he ever did. "Seems like it worked," he said genially. "You okay?"

Elle wiggled her fingers. No glow. "I feel like my brain is stuffed with cotton wool," she said, after a second.

He huffed a laugh. "Good thing, too. I wouldn't want to be telepathic on a regular basis."

Elle got up and moved to the window. The Lesser Magellanic looked normal, no sign of rips or entropic shenanigans. "I guess she did it," she said, and strangely felt like bursting into tears.

Harb patted her on the back and handed her a tissue. "Go and have yourself a good cry, a shower, and come back and I'll make you some mac'n'cheese," he said. "Then you can play some nice Mario Kart with Moira."

"Sounds good," Elle sniffed, and took her overwhelmed teenage hormones to her quarters.

-/\\-

Elle didn't even end up crying. How could you grieve when K't'lk had gone out in a literal blaze of glory, doing what she loved, doing something literally no one else would get to do? Elle closed her eyes, trying to remember the sensation of witnessing the Big Bang. It was still there, and so were the afterimages of everyone's glowy self. She fixed them in her memory and found herself crying a little bit anyway out of sheer overwhelmedness.

She did take a nap though, after her shower, and went back to Rec for the promised mac'n'cheese.

The Enterprise stayed outside the Lesser Magellanic for a day, running instrument checks, rebooting systems and checking on the affected systems. Everything was perfectly fine.

And in the evening, they had K't'lk's memorial service. Spock conducted the service, and Scotty cried into Uhura's shoulder. Elle stood with Sulu and Chekov and barely cried at all.

-/\\-

They hopscotched back to the Alpha Quadrant within a matter of hours. Elle didn't feel any strange effects from the Inversion Drive, thank goodness.

She was in the Yeomen's offices when the news came. K't'lk was alive! Well, her daughter-self anyway, the spun glass egg she'd left on a shelf somewhere.

"She's so small and cute!" Yeoman Barrows said. "You should've seen her and Scotty speaking engineer faster than anyone else can keep up."

Elle smiled. "Life finds a way," she quoted.

Their arrival in the solar system came with an honor guard of starships, all present to hail the returning heroes. The Enterprise docked in Spacedock and the senior officers went off to debrief about the Drive.

Elle beamed down to Iowa, the Kirk farm, and pet the various farm animals until the captain came back for dinner, Spock and McCoy in tow. "How'd it go?" Elle asked.

Kirk gave her a tired smile. "You are now the proud owner of a quarter of a million credits," he said.

Elle stared. "What?"

"The prize money for making it to a new galaxy," McCoy explained.

"Oh. Cool. Does that mean I could buy my own ship?"

Kirk gave her a Look. "And what's wrong with the one you have?" he demanded, mock-sternly.

Elle smiled. "Absolutely nothing at all. The Enterprise is the best ship ever."

"And don't you forget it," Kirk said proudly.

They stayed another week on Earth. Elle got to visit Mrs. McCoy again, who obligingly stuffed Elle full of good Southern food, and Chekov took her to Russia to see the sights.

Other than the homecooked food though, Elle was glad to return to the Enterprise.


	62. A Troubled Egg

Elle poked her head into Auxiliary Control. "Scotty?"

No Scotty.

She checked the next few departments. Any lieutenant commander would do to sign off her project, but where was everybody?

" _What_ do you think you're doing?" a voice snapped angrily.

She whirled around to face the disgruntled engineer. "I'm looking for Scotty, lieutenant, have you seen him?"

" _Commander_ Scott is busy doing his job, young lady. What are you doing in a restricted area? Where's your guardian?"

She glanced around. "It's not the armory or Impulse Control, I can come in here," she reassured him.

That just made the man scowl deeper. "You shouldn't be in this section at all," he said. He grabbed her arm and propelled her from the room. " _Where_ is your guardian?"

"I-" Elle pulled away but his grip was unrelenting as he marched her towards the lift. "Look, you're new, right? I don't need supervision, I have clearance as a mission consultant, I just need someone to mark off my homework!"

"Right," he drawled, and set the lift for the Rec Deck.

"No really!" Elle said. "I have clearance!"

He just rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. And I'm the queen of England."

"You're really new," Elle said, resigning herself to being dragged all over the ship. "Came over from Starbase 14 last week?"

"Yes, and I'm not letting any little brat ruin my first good posting." He pulled her out of the lift. "Your guardian's name. Now."

"Captain Kirk," Elle told him. "My secondary guardian is Mr. Spock. My tertiary guardian is Dr. McCoy."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't be insolent," he said.

 _Insolent? What kind of Victorian world did this guy live in?_ Elle glared at him. "I'm telling the truth."

"Uh-huh." He dragged her forward.

She dug in her heels. "Lemme go!"

"Don't think you can just run off, you little brat!" He tugged her forward and she tripped over her own feet. With that auspicious entrance, they stumbled into the Rec Room. Everyone looked over at them.

Sulu and Nurse Lia Burke were sitting at a table near the entrance. Sulu shot to his feet and came over, waving back a few of the others who had stood.

Lt. Stupidhead shook Elle's arm slightly. "Lt. Sulu, do you know where this child's guardian is? I found her sneaking around Engineering."

Sulu stared at them.

Elle shrugged an arm helplessly.

Sulu's gaze narrowed to the lieutenant's grip on Elle's other arm and his entire demeanor turned to ice. "Lt. Dior, unhand Miss Wilcott _immediately_."

He let Elle go and snapped, "Yes, sir."

She stumbled a few steps away, rubbing her arm. "Ow," she grumbled.

Nurse Burke waved Elle over. "Did he hurt you?" she asked, her calm demeanor belying the fire in her gaze.

"Just dragged me here from Engineering," Elle said warily, as both Sulu and the surrounding crewmen grew progressively frostier towards the new guy.

Nurse Lia pulled up Elle's short sleeve to reveal a bruising handprint. "Sulu," she said.

Sulu turned, saw the bruise, and turned back to the lieutenant, who was still standing there. "What made you think it was a good idea to put your hands on a civilian child?" Sulu asked in that voice that usually meant death-by-sharp-sword.

"She was in a restricted area," Lt. Dior replied.

"She has clearance," Sulu said flatly.

"I didn't know-"

"She wouldn't have been able to get off the lift if she didn't have clearance."

"I didn't know-"

Sulu didn't let him speak. "Elle, did you tell him?"

"Yeah."

Sulu's gaze got flintier. "And your solution, Lt, was to forcibly drag her through half the ship?"

"She wouldn't tell me who her guardian was."

Sulu raised an eyebrow, Spock-style. "Elle?"

"I said the captain," Elle said quietly, suddenly uncomfortably aware of everyone in the rec room watching them. She shrank behind Lia.

"Captains don't have _kids_ ," Dior scoffed.

Sulu gave a thin smile void of humor. "As a matter of fact, our captain does. So do I. Elle is a ward of the Enterprise in care of the senior officers, _including_ Mr. Scott."

Dior stiffened. "How was I supposed to know-"

"By using your brain," Sulu snapped. "I'll speak to Mr. Scott about refreshing your basic orientiation. And if you ever harm another child, _especially_ Elle, well. Vacuum is especially nice this time of year." His eyes flashed. "Dismissed!"

Dior snapped a salute, shot Elle a glare, and hustled out.

Sulu turned to Elle, his whole posture softening. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Elle said, mentally adding, _just horribly embarrassed_.

"I need to speak to Mr. Scott about this," Sulu said. "Lia?"

"Yup."

Sulu glaced over the room, taking in everyone who'd stopped to gawp. "As you were," he announced, and left. By the time he'd cleared the room, everyone had obediently gone back to their own business.

Yeah. Elle could totally see him getting his own ship.

Lia cleared her throat. "Okay, Elle. Let's go to sickbay, heal up that bruise, and you tell me everything that happened."

Elle shifted uneasily. "Can we just-"

"No," Lia said firmly. "That kind of attitude is unbecoming a Fleet officer, and it's gonna get him or someone else killed if he's not straightened out. Can you imagine if you had been a superpowered child or being that took offense at being manhandled?"

"Oh." Elle grimaced. "Yeah, that'd be bad."

"Plus, if those are his manners towards cute kids, his interpersonal skills need work, too."

"I'm not a cute kid!" Elle protested.

Lia patted Elle's head. "You're a cute young lady, how's that?"

"Fine," Elle grumbled.

They walked down to Sickbay in silence, and Lia ushered Elle onto the nearest biobed. While Lia ran the dermal regenerator over Elle's arm, Elle told her everything that had happened.

Lia gave her a hug. "Okay. You can go on, we'll deal with Mr. Fat-head."

"You're not actually going to space him, are you?" Elle asked.

"Nah." Lia gave a sharp grin. "Maybe just leave him in the airlock for a little bit."

"Lia!"

The nurse laughed and waved her away.

Elle found out from the yeomen that Lt. Dior had been transferred to Maintenance, away from critical systems, since he was a "troublesome" officer. Scotty was hesitant to transfer him because he had potential, but the Lt was being watched closely. Apparently his record wasn't too good with his fellow officers on the starbase before, and being transferred to the Enterprise had given him an arrogance-boost. Yeoman Barrows added, "He won't last long on the Enterprise if he doesn't get his head on straight. Don't you worry about him, Elle."

Lt. Dior apologized the next day, in the Rec Room, in front of the same crowd. He looked like he was in physical pain as he apologized for manhandling her down the corridors.

"I forgive you?" Elle said, unsure of the protocol for a situation like this. This was her first ever time dealing with someone new to the Enterprise.

Lt. Dior nodded curtly and went away.

Elle went to sit with Lt. Riley. "I don't like not being liked," she said.

"Does anyone?" he asked, and tugged at her braid. "Eat your porridge."

She ate her porridge.

That evening, Kirk started their literary discussion with, "So. New crewmembers giving you trouble?"

Elle startled. "Sir?" she asked, trying to play it cool.

He raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm not aware when officers are suddenly transferred to new departments with a warning to 'keep him away from the civilian consultant'?"

Elle blushed.

"I got the whole story out of Scotty," he added. "This isn't the first time that troublesome officers have been transferred to the Enterprise as a last chance to work out their issues."

"It isn't?" Elle asked.

Kirk gave a wry grin. "You haven't noticed that the Enterprise is full of stark-raving mad neophiles that don't fit in anywhere else?"

Elle blinked. "Isn't that all of Star Fleet?"

He laughed. "Not hardly. You see it more on the starships. You have to be crazy, to survive out here, to see the things we see and not lose your mind. But further in, or on regular ships, no, they're much more, staid."

"That explains a lot," Elle murmured, thinking of too-soon promotions.

"It does, doesn't it?" Kirk said. "So when there are officers on their last chances, they usually get sent out. They either adapt to the crazy, or they wash out. Lt. Dior could be either one, although I admit he hasn't gotten off to a good start." He gave Elle a Look. "If anyone else gives you any problems, I want to hear about it right away, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Elle said.

"Good."


	63. Day of the Demented Dove

"This is what y'all get for not telling me about important mission things like vanished colonies," Elle informed the rest of the ops crew as they sat, trapped, in the lower decks.

"Hush up," Lt. Commander Chanax said, not unkindly. "What even is going on? Matthews, you made any progress hot-wiring those things yet?"

"Klingons, sir," Matthews said grimly, wrestling a lifesigns reading from the recalcitrant computer.

The just-another-Tuesday mood vanished from the room. "Klingons," Chanax muttered. "Elle, get to your bolt-hole and lock down the Jefferies tubes in that section. Scotty showed you how, right?"

"Yeah, but I can help-"

"No," Chanax said. "You need to be safe."

"But I think I know what this is," Elle insisted. "It's an anger-mongerer, like the fear-mongerer we encountered a few weeks ago with the traumatized children. It feeds on anger, it lured the Klingons and the Enterprise here, and it just wants people to fight and be angry! We have to stop it." She took a deep breath, calmed herself. "We have to find a way to tell the captain," she said.

Chanax nodded. "We'll do that. You need to be safe. Matthews, go with her."

"Aye, sir." Matthews ushered Elle towards the nearest Jefferies tube entrance.

They climbed up to Elle's "tree fort" and Elle took out a gaming tablet. "Since we're stuck here," she grumbled.

Matthews patted her on the head. "Don't pout, Elle. Can you imagine if something happened to you? The captain would have our heads and Mr. Spock would vaporize whatever was left of us. If anything, you're doing us a favor."

Elle sighed, but there was no heat behind it. She finished a level of her game and put it away, feeling oddly sleepy. "Are you tired, Lt?" she asked, yawning.

"Yeah, it's odd," he said, listing to the side. "I don't..." He sat bolt upright. "The oxygen."

"Huh?"

"Klingons must've cut life support," he said urgently. "Where's your emergency pack?"

Elle wrestled the pack out of the storage locker, trying to push aside the urge to sleep. She found two oxygen masks and slapped one into Matthew's hands. The other she strapped to her face. It triggered automatically and fresh air flowed into her nostrils. She took a deep breath and sagged against the bulkhead in clear-headed relief. "We're good," she said, her words fogging up her mask.

A Klingon burst from the opposite access hatch. Matthews brought his phaser up with a shout but it was suddenly a dagger in his hands. The Klingon knocked him over the head with a battle-axe. Matthews slumped unconscious.

Elle's shock turned to outright fury, red lights washing over her vision. "NO!" she shrieked, and threw herself at the Klingon in a fit of madness. She managed a solid punch to the kidneys before he cuffed her over the head with a heavy fist. She yelped again and dropped, half-stunned.

"A child on the ship, the dishonorable Earthers," the Klingon spat, and grabbed her around the waist.

Elle fought past the haze in her brain. "Let me go!" she screamed, anger running through every pore. "Let me go! Matthews!"

The Klingon tied her up in her own cardigan and hauled her, kicking and screaming, out of the Jefferies tubes. He picked her up around the waist and brought her to the main contingent of Klingons in Engineering. "A ransom prize," he announced, dropping her in front of the Klingon commander. "They have a child."

"I'm _not_ a child!" Elle yelled, wrestling against his grip.

The Klingon commander chuckled. "Well," he said. "She has the spirit of a Klingon, even if she is a tiny Earther." He flipped the comm open. "Kirk! This is Kang! I have captured Engineering, and I have found your human child. Surrender to me and no harm will come to her."

"Don't do it!" Elle screeched, and the Klingon holding her put a hand over her mouth. She bit him.

He slapped her and she shrieked, kicking out at his feet.

"Elle!" Kirk called through the comm, raging anger and concern pouring through the tinny speaker. "Elle, stay calm! Remember! Remember the Gorgon, it's the same thing! Stay calm!"

The Gorgon. It preyed on fear. Elle stopped thrashing, trying to remember. Red tinged the edges of her vision and she headbutted the Klingon in the gut.

He grunted and retightened his hold on her. "Stop it!" he ordered.

Elle could barely hear Kirk and Kang speaking to each other, there was _so much anger_ \- No. Wait. She knew this episode. She _knew_ this episode. It was... she looked up and saw the red blob of energy hovering over them. It fed on _anger_ , just like its brother fed on fear. She forced herself to close her eyes, to breathe, to calm down. Inhale for five, hold, breathe out for five. Inhale, hold, exhale.

 _Cast out fear,_ she recited silently. _Cast out fear, and anger, and hate, and all negative emotions_. _You don't need them. They speed entropy. They feed evil red soul-sucking energy squids. Don't do it, Elle. Don't give them the satisfaction. Besides, you like Klingons. Remember Worf? Worf is good. Worf is nice. These Klingons are people, too. Cast out anger_.

She opened her eyes, her mind calm, her vision no longer blurry with fury. "Commander Kang," she said, and bowed, as much as she could with two burly Klingons holding onto her. "Commander, I ask you to listen to Captain Kirk. There is a creature, there-" She wrestled an arm free and pointed at the red blob. "It feeds on anger, it's setting you up, setting us all up, to be its playthings."

Kang glanced from the blob to Elle. "Lies!" he shouted. "That is what your captain used to destroy our Klingon ship!"

"No it isn't!" Elle insisted. "It's not! Just look! Why would Earthers want to destroy you? All we've been trying to do is _not_ fight you since the Organian treaty!"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Look at Engineering," Elle insisted, "you've taken away all the crew but the engines are still going, we're going at warp nine, and this ship is going to destroy itself. And if it doesn't, the only thing you'll be doing is fighting the Enterprise crew, _forever_. The same people, playing the same games, at the whim of that creature. Where's the honor in that?"

Kang let out a wordless cry of rage and threw a dagger at the red blob. The knife went through it harmlessly and buried itself in the wall. "How do we kill it?" he demanded, picking Elle up by the front of her sweater. He shook her. "Tell me!"

"You have to laugh," Elle said.

He dropped her in a heap on the ground. "Explain!"

"It feeds on anger," Elle said, scrambling to her feet. "It wants us to be angry, to fight each other, to feel that red haze. We can't let it have that anger."

"Lies!" one of the Klingons said. "She just wants to weaken us!"

Elle saw the fist coming-and everything went black.

-/\\-

"Ow," was the first thing Elle said, upon waking.

"Elle?" Nurse Lia came over. "What hurts?"

Elle blinked, taking stock. "Nothing," she said slowly, rubbing at her no-longer-aching head. "But that's what I was gonna say." She sat up and looked around. Sickbay, only a couple of other people on biobeds. "Matthews!" she yelped, scrambling to yank the blankets off herself. "Where's Lt. Matthews!?"

Lia pressed Elle back into the bed. "Lt. Matthews is fine," she said calmly, and tucked Elle back under the blankets.

"What about the Klingons?"

"They're still onboard. A Klingon ship is supposed to meet us at the border to offload." Lia shook her head. "Somehow, we're not at war."

Elle relaxed, boneless, into the biobed. "Oh, thank the Great Bird," she breathed, and closed her eyes again.

Lia puttered around her, checking vitals. She pressed a protein shake into Elle's hand. "Drink that, and then you can go."

Elle sipped on the drink and made a face. Artificial strawberry, blech. She chugged it and made a face. "Yeuch." She hopped out of the biobed and wavered on her feet.

"Whoops, we've got an escapee," a familiar voice said, bracing her against the edge of the bed. "You okay?"

"Captain!" Elle threw her arms around him. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine." He tilted her chin back and inspected the fading bruise on her face. His eyes darkened. "They hurt you."

Elle grinned. "I punched one of them in the kidneys. And I bit him. What happened?"

"Well, after we ascertained they had just knocked you out, Kang agreed to listen to me. We joined forces and quite literally laughed the red blob of anger off the ship. It hightailed it away into deep space. We agreed to a truce and we're rendezvousing with a Klingon troop transport in a few hours at the nearest starbase. That creature drove us right out to the edge of Federation space."

"How long have I been out?"

"Only about half an hour." He looked serious. "What happened on your end? Debrief."

"I got stuck with the ops personnel. Matthews and me went to my bolt-hole, but I think the red blob figured out I could be used as a hostage." Elle scowled. "It took me way too long to fight off the influence of that thing. Sorry I couldn't help."

He smiled at her. "We figured it out eventually. And Kang was partially convinced by your words. It just took some mild wrangling for us to convince him fully." Kirk frowned. "Your habit of being taken hostage is starting to worry me though."

"It's not like I'm _asking_ to be taken hostage!" Elle protested, fear dropping her stomach into her toes. "Please don't send me away, captain, please."

He hugged her again. "If it's for your own safety-" he started.

"Then I need to be here," she said desperately. "If you send me away and I get kidnapped, you won't even know until its too late. And if you send me away you won't have my knowledge, and people will _die_."

"What if _you_ die?" Kirk asked.

Elle shook her head. "I won't. Or if I do, it's not like I'll die for reals, right?"

"We don't know that," he said, solemn.

"Yes we do. Please? I won't get held hostage again."

He sighed. "We'll discuss this when the ship's not overrun with Klingons," he said.

"But-"

He patted her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Elle." He left.

Elle stared after him, her heart hammering with fear.

"Elle?" Lia came back. "You can go. Dr. McCoy says to take it easy the rest of the day."

Elle mumbled a thanks and fled to her quarters before she could cry in the corridors. She made it, barely, and burst into tears. She threw herself on her bed. "I didn't even break orders!" she cried. "I was _hiding_!"

She cried herself to sleep.


	64. A Close Call

By the time she woke up they were at the starbase. The captain and the senior officers were busy overseeing the transfer of Klingons and shaking hands with the other Klingons, so basically, it was just another starbase run, another attempt at getting someone to take Elle on a field trip. It was much better than staying on the ship and worrying about- no. She wasn't going to think about it.

"Please, Bones, it's for my mental and emotional enrichment," she pleaded, trailing him through sickbay.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but for your future physical health _we_ are restocking sickbay and _I_ need to keep an eye on these supply grunts."

Elle sighed. "Fine."

Eventually she found Lt. Riley. "Please can you take me to the starbase so I can poke around?" she begged. "Please? I'll buy you lunch, I have credits!"

He laughed. "Well, if you're buying me lunch, certainly."

"Yes! Thank you!"

They beamed over to the starbase and Lt. Riley let her drag him all over creation, looking at all the ships and the indoor biome parks. "Oh! Let's go in there." Elle tugged him towards an antique shop.

The inside of the ship glittered like a cave of wonders. Elle ignored all the shiny and went straight to the back, to a shelf of paper books. "My precious," she whispered dramatically.

"You're a reader," the shop owner said, coming over to smile indulgently as she paged gently through the books.

"I didn't used to be," Elle admitted. "Just sci-fi. But it's grown on me this last year or so." She flipped through the bookplates and found a book, carefully preserved, from 2005. 'The lightning thief.' "Kevin, look! This book is as old as me!"

He saw the date and laughed. "You have to get it."

The shopowner gave her a good price and wrapped her book in a sturdy package. Elle had it beamed back to the ship and she and Lt. Riley headed for lunch.

They were in the middle of eating when an officer came over. An Admiral? Lt. Riley shot to his feet and saluted. "Admiral."

"Lieutenant," the admiral said genially. "I'd like to speak to your civilian mission consultant."

"I'm sorry, sir, you'll have to speak to Captain Kirk about our consultant's schedule," Riley said, straight-faced.

The admiral turned to Elle and extended a hand. "Admiral Jon Westlake. It's an honor to meet you, Miss Wilcott."

Elle shook his hand reluctantly. "Excuse me, admiral, I have to go back to the ship." She flagged down a waiter.

The Admiral paid for their lunch in advance, "please, finish eating, it's the least I can do," and sat down across from them. "I'll just walk you over when you're done," he said.

"I'm sure you're busy," Elle said, stuffing another bite of pasta into her mouth.

He glanced at his wrist watch, and who had a wrist watch in this century? "I've got time," he said. "Your file is the most fascinating read, Miss Wilcott."

She tensed and looked over at Kevin. He shook his head slightly and disguised it behind wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Is it?" she asked, and cursed her voice for going so high-pitched.

"It is," Westlake agreed. "Your full, uncensored, file."

For him to have it, this wasn't any ole Admiral, this guy must be one of the top ten people at Star Fleet. Elle cast her mind back to Sarek's impromptu diplomacy lessons - Westlake wasn't on them. "Oh," was all she said aloud, and fought the temptation to stuff breadsticks into her purse.

"And I have to wonder, Miss Wilcott, for someone of your potential, what are you doing on a starship in constant danger?"

She turned to glare at him. "That's where I'm needed," she replied crisply.

He gave a placating smile. "Of course. Your file does revolve around the mission logs of the Enterprise. Your dedication to the crew and to Star Fleet is impressive for someone so young."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm old enough to help."

"And to get captured by Klingons," he said knowingly.

Elle flushed from forehead to neck but Kevin squeezed her hand and she didn't dare retort.

"That's actually what I wanted to speak to you about," the admiral continued. "What if you could make a difference, help, on a larger scale?"

In reply she put another mouthful of shrimp in her mouth.

Westlake leaned forward. "I want you to come back to Earth," he said. "Your own apartment, no need to stay on a farm in Iowa, the finest schools, and access to far more resources than you'll find on any starship."

"I'm fourteen, I don't need resources," Elle replied, bristling against the insult to her teachers.

"You might need them if you were going to help," the admiral said, taking a sip of his iced tea.

"Help how?" Elle asked, and mentally kicked herself for taking the bait.

He smiled. "Wouldn't you like to live in a Federation that's not at war?"

"We're not _at_ war," Elle pointed out.

"We're only one bad decision away from war," he corrected sharply. "What would have happened if Captain Kirk hadn't managed to fool the Romulans last time?"

The question sent ice through her veins. She moved the last bits of pasta around on her plate.

Kevin cleared his throat and said, "We need to be getting back to the ship, Elle. Admiral."

They got up from their seats and Elle grabbed a breadstick for the road.

"See, you know," Westlake said, as they walked through the wide corridors to the docking rings. "Even so young, you understand the ramifications of each encounter with the enemy."

"They're not enemies," Elle said, almost shouted, and gritted her teeth when people turned to look. "They're not enemies," she repeated, lowering her voice. "The Klingons are going to be friends, sooner than you or your war-mongering buddies are going to realize. They're not evil, they're not savages, they're just people, like you and me, and they do have a code of honor, even if you can't understand it. And the Romulans are the same. They're going through a rough patch in their government right now but the majority of them, the common people, have honor. They're related to the Vulcans, how could they not? You can't just expect to take advantage of them! We're at _peace_ , why can't you just leave them alone? Or is the Federation really some kind of imperialistic conqueror like they think we are? Sir."

Kevin, behind her, face-palmed extravagantly.

Elle couldn't bring herself to regret it. _That was a pretty good speech, if I do say so myself_ , her inner literary analysis said. _You've actually been paying attention when the captain speaks, good job. Except now you're in trouble...oh boy._

Westlake was grinning at her, a completely delighted expression on his face instead of the scowly one Elle was expecting. "You're _perfect_ ," he said. "That's exactly what we need."

Elle stared at him. _?_

"I need someone like you at Fleet HQ," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "The council these days is too focused on shooting first and protecting our assets instead of talking things out and looking at the long-term goals, which, ideally, are exactly what you've been talking about. We need _you_ to help us get there with what you know."

Elle's jaw dropped. "What?"

Kevin, behind her, looked like he was praying.

"I'll speak to Captain Kirk," Westlake said. "You could have whatever you wanted on Earth, or Vulcan, wherever you want to be based."

Elle felt somewhat faint, either because of or in spite of her giant lunch. "Is this an order?" she asked, her heart dropping to her toes. _No, please, no, no_...

"No it's not," Westlake said. "You are still a teenager, and I can't order you anywhere you don't want to go. But you could be the difference between war and peace in this century."

That was, that was kind of a big deal. And wasn't it better to go, of her own choice, than to be kicked off the ship by well-meaning captains? Wait, no, hold up. _Didn't I say I'd rather die again than live in Politic Central?_ _Where's your logic brain, you loser_?

Elle cleared her throat. "That's, uh, a big offer, admiral, but you don't actually need me for that."

"How so?" He looked amused.

"If you haven't noticed, the universe I know kind of revolves around the Enterprise. It's not my presence, or my words, that'll change things. Spock, and Captain Kirk, are going to be instrumental in making friends with the Klingons. Spock, almost single-handedly, helps with the Romulans. I'm not part of any of that. _But_ , for them to get there, they need to actually, you know, survive in the frontier where you put them, so unless the captain himself doesn't want me on the ship, then I'll stay where I'm most needed. By the people on the front lines. Who are facing things without Star Fleet HQ on the horn. Because you put them there to do their jobs. _They're_ the ones that need my help."

"And on that note," said the most welcome voice in the world, "I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to poach my civilian consultant who is, may I remind you Admiral, a _minor_ , and speaking to her without a guardian present is highly inappropriate. _Sir_." Captain Kirk stepped neatly in front of Elle and faced Admiral Westlake with his best warning smile.

Kevin sagged in relief.

Westlake looked disappointed. "Of course," he said magnamaniously. "Just giving you options, in case you change your mind about having civilians on your ship." He nodded. "Captain. Miss Wilcott. Lt." He turned about-face and walked away.

Kirk waited till he was gone before turnning to Elle. "I changed my mind," he said. "I'm not letting you anywhere near those vultures."

She hugged him in relief.

"You have perfect timing, sir," Kevin said, sighing again.

"I wasn't gonna do anything," Elle protested.

"I wasn't worried about you," Kevin said. "I was worried I'd have to deck a superior officer."

Elle patted his arm. "Don't worry, Kev, I wouldn't let them court-martial you."

Kirk stifled a snigger. "And neither would I, lieutenant. Let's go back to the ship," he said.


	65. When the World is Hollow

"Welcome to the most stressful week of the year," McCoy said, giving Elle a grin. "Yearly crew physicals. Starting with you."

Elle groaned like a dying land-shark and tried to backtrack out of sickbay. Chapel stepped behind her. "Nope," the nurse said unsympathetically. "You first, then you're all done and you can help us round up the rest of the ingrates."

"I'm not ungrateful," Elle protested, as she kicked off her shoes and hopped on the biobed. "I'm very grateful for free universal health care."

"Good. And if you behave Nurse Chapel will give you a sticker."

"I want a lollipop," Elle decided.

McCoy turned a parental eye on her. "That wasn't the deal."

"You started by bribing me, I set the terms of the bribe," Elle said primly, clasping her hands.

Chapel laughed. "She's got a point, doctor."

He rolled his eyes theatrically. "My own staff, conspiring against me. Fine. You get a candy."

"Nice."

After the physical exam, Chapel bestowed upon Elle an orange lollipop and a sticker with the Medical insignia. "You are now a deputy nurse," Chapel said. "Our secret weapon."

Elle fixed the sticker to her sweater and saluted. "What do I have to do?"

"Get these people to sickbay so they can have their exam on time," Chapel said, handing Elle a datapad. "I won't object to dragging ensigns down the corridor."

" _I_ object," McCoy protested.

"It's not our fault you terrify half the crew and they don't want to come in," Chapel replied dryly.

McCoy huffed. "Fine. Whatever." He gestured towards the door. "Go forth and bring me my patients."

Elle saluted and marched out of the door.

-/\\-

"You have your yearly physical in fifteen minutes."

"You can't put this off, he'll just come and find you himself and then you'll really regret it when you come down with Rigellian fever and you have to get a hypo."

"Ensign, if you don't report to Sickbay in the next five minutes I'm going to sic Commander Stabby on you."

That last one usually got 'em. Nothing like a prop knife to the ankle for some motivation.

Elle left to get lunch and came back half an hour later, totally expecting the Med staff to be celebrating the last of the crew exams. Instead she found Bones and Chapel glaring at each other across a biobed.

"Just leave it, Chris," McCoy said tiredly.

"Do you want me to tell the captain?" Chapel asked.

"No, I'll do it."

They caught sight of her and clammed up. "I'll finish up," Chapel said, and bustled away.

Elle bit her lip. "Hey, um, everything ok?"

"I only want to cover it once, let me page Jim." He moved to the wall comm. "Captain Kirk to sickbay."

Elle followed him into his office and slid into a chair. "Don't tell me there's a shapeshifter lurking in the crew again?"

He snorted. "No, thank goodness. Once was enough."

Kirk entered a few moments later. "Report, doctor?" He plopped down into the other chair, obviously expecting good news.

McCoy sank into his chair behind the desk. "Well, all crewmembers have been evaluated. 98% of them are in optimal condition and the other two percent have no new health concerns. Only one person has come up with an incurable illness."

"Incurable illness?" Kirk echoed, startled.

"Xenopolycythemia. No cure."

Elle's heart dropped to her toes as dread curled in her stomach. "No..."

"Who, Bones?" Kirk asked gravely.

"Your Chief Medical Officer, captain," McCoy said.

"Bones..." Kirk stared at his friend and advisor, aghast. "Is it sure?"

"Chapel and M'Benga confirmed it," McCoy said, and steeled himself. "I'll be more effective in my remaining time here if you keep it to yourself, you too, Elle, and I'd like to request immediate transfer to Earth."

"Of course," Kirk murmured, still stunned.

" _No_ ," Elle said, and clapped a hand over her mouth when they both turned to look at her.

"Elle, sweetheart," McCoy said gently.

"You're a main character, you can't _die_ ," Elle said.

"Elle honey, this isn't a show, this is real life. Sometimes there is no-"

"No, but, you make it," Elle insisted. "You make it, I promise. We just have to find the asteroid. There's an asteroid with people on it, a huge database from an ancient civilization that had advanced medical technology!" She smacked her forehead with her palm. "The, um, the fabric-something. The Fabrini!"

They shared a glance, hope lighting their eyes. "Are you sure?" Kirk asked.

"I'm sure," Elle confirmed. "Bones, you become Star Fleet head of medical for years, you holler at androids eight decades from now, you're not going _anywhere_ , okay? We got this."

He took a deep breath and looked at Kirk. "It'll take some time to find a replacement anyways, we have a few weeks to chase this down."

"I'll talk to Spock." The captain got up, clapped McCoy on the shoulder, and left.

"I promise," Elle repeated, standing up. She gave him a hug and scarpered before she could start crying.

-/\\-

The next few days Elle spent purely in astrometrics, looking for the asteroid on sensors. Nothing showed up. She knew that they were making arrangements for Bones to leave, that the captain and Spock were going over CMO profiles, trying to find someone to replace Bones-but who could? No one could. It was _Bones._

"Elle, honey-"

"Sorry, gotta go," Elle said, and rushed past a well-meaning Nurse Chapel.

Chapel followed and caught up with Elle in the observation deck. "Elle, sweetheart-" she tried again.

"He's not going to _die_ ," Elle snapped, and to her chagrin, started crying. "He's _not_."

Chapel hugged her tightly. "We all want to believe it, Elle, trust me, we do, but you have to prepare yourself for the possibility that... that Dr. McCoy may leave us."

It descended into ugly-cry territory for a bit as Elle battled with the idea that Bones: beloved, grumpy, eat-your-veggies _Bones_ might actually _die_. "He's supposed to outlive everybody 'cept God and Spock," she sniffled into the nurse's shoulder.

"And he probably will," Chapel soothed, "this is the Enterprise, we do six impossible things before breakfast every day. But, we need to be balanced, and you need to make time to spend with Dr. McCoy and your other classes."

Elle took a shaky breath. "Okay."

Chapel handed her a tissue. "Good girl." She kissed Elle's forehead. "Take a warm shower, put on your jammies, and have some tea. You'll feel better. Go on."

-/\\-

For the next two weeks Elle lived in a strange world, part of an exclusive club of the Med Staff, Kirk, and Spock, the only people who knew that Dr. McCoy had a terminal disease. Every alert from the bridge and every stray space rock they passed, Elle's emotions did a rollercoaster that started in 'hope!' and always ended up back in 'hurry-up-and-wait'. It was exhausting. The captain's dark circles got darker, and nobody mentioned that Spock spent every night in one of the labs, researching medical history on certain terminal diseases.

Two weeks after the prognosis, Elle's quiet time was interrupted by a yellow alert of approaching objects. It was the most beautiful sound Elle had ever heard. As it turned into a red alert, Elle whooped.

"Showtime!" she yelled, startling everyone in the yeomen's department. "I gotta go!" She raced for the bridge.

"Phasers one and two are ready."

"Fire phasers."

Firworks exploded on the viewscreen. "Missiles destroyed, keptin," Chekov reported.

"Alter course to missiles' point of origin," Kirk ordered. He turned to Elle. "Please tell me this is what we've been waiting for."

Elle watched the asteroid grow in size and hopped up and down. "This is it. The hollow asteroid!"

"Hollow?"

"It must be so, captain, as there are no visible engines. It is leaving a trail of hard radiation though, atomic, very crude."

"Lifesigns?" Kirk asked.

"None that our sensors can pick up, sir."

Kirk swiveled his chair. "Let's try hailing them first. Lt. Uhura?"

"Aye sir, standard hailing frequencies."

They went up and down the scale of greetings and hails, even trying some scraps of Fabrini language Spock located in the Federation database. Nothing.

"Course of asteroid, I mean spaceship two four one mark one seven," Chekov said, after some computing. 

"Interesting," Spock said. "The course Ensign Chekov just gave for the asteroid would put it on a collision course with Daran Five."

"Daran Five? Inhabited?" Kirk asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Correct. Population approximately three billion and seven hundred twenty four million, if memory serves me correctly. Estimated time of impact three hundred ninety six days."

"Mister Sulu, match Enterprise speed with that of the asteroid vessel. Someone's going to have to go over there. If there are people, we need to warn them to change course. And if there aren't, who knows what we might learn from the last bits of Fabrini civilization." He stood up. "Spock, your recommendations on an away team?"

The command duo got in the elevator.

"That's the most cheerful the keptin's looked in weeks," Chekov muttered to Sulu. "I vonder vat's going on?"

Sulu shrugged.

Elle escaped from the bridge before anyone could ask her anything.

-/\\-

"I'd like to go along."

"Doctor, wouldn't it be wiser-"

"Look, if Elle's right, then I'm the best person for the job, I know exactly what I'm looking for."

"... fine."

Elle watched McCoy get on the transporter pad with the rest of the security and anthropological away team. Spock traded a look with the captain and took his place on the transporter dais. "Energize," he ordered calmly.

The away team vanished in a haze of sparkles.

Kirk turned to Elle and put an arm around her shoulders. "Givin' me grey hairs, the lot of 'em," he grumbled jokingly, and pressed a kiss to Elle's hair. "Come along, Miss Consultant, you can keep me company while we wait for an update."

"In the episode, you and Spock went down," Elle told him.

He turned an exasperated look heavenwards. "I'm just adventurous, I'm not reckless," he said. "Who beams down their two commanding officers to a possibly hostile asteroid?"

Elle stifled a giggle.

The wait wasn't long. Only half a cup of coffee later, Spock called in to the ship. "Captain, we've discovered the inside of this asteroid does indeed hold the last remnants of the Fabrini civilization. However, all the inhabitants are in stasis."

Elle choked on her coffee. " _That's_ new."

"Stasis?" Kirk echoed.

"Yes, sir. Records indicate that they have been in this vessel for over ten thousand years. Their guidance systems malfunctioned at some point and they missed their chosen resettlement point."

"And now they're about to crash into Daran V," Kirk mused. "Is there any way to reprogram their guidance system?"

"Yes, sir. Their database also contains the sum knowledge of their culture, sir, including all their medical knowledge."

Elle sighed in relief.

Kirk beamed at her. "Do you require more away teams, Mr. Spock?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, and we'll need to create an uplink to the Enterprise library computer."

"Understood." Kirk signed off and looked at Elle. "Bones is going to be all right."

"Main characters don't die," Elle repeated. "Or if they do they come back."

"Good to know." He tugged at her ponytail and went to arrange a second away team.

Elle sat in the briefing room with her cup of coffee and had herself a good old-fashioned cry of relief. Bones was going to be okay.

It took another week to reprogram the guidance system to send the Fabrini civilization to an uninhabited planet, and another two days after that to find the cure to xenopolycythemia.

McCoy grumbled through the entire treatment process, which was hilarious.

"They say doctors make the worst patients," Chapel said sagely.

"They were right," Elle agreed. "But he's going to be okay now?"

"He's going to be okay," Chapel confirmed. "Dr. McCoy's gonna be around for a long time."


	66. All Hail the Glowing Cube

"A glowing cube! All hail the cube!" Elle leaned over Lt. Tanzer's shoulder to stare at the holographic black cube full of squares. "What's this for?"

"Chess," Harb Tanzer replied.

"Uhhh. Okay?"

"Captain Kirk approached me about spicing up 3D chess."

Elle blinked. "So you're making it 4D chess?"

"Yes."

"But the fourth dimension is time. How's that going to work?"

Moira, the games computer, spoke up. "Judicious application of time-outs."

Elle blinked. "You lost me."

Tanzer shrugged. "We're still working on it."

"Cool. Can I help? I like cubes."

Harb glanced from her Minecraft-patterned pajama pants to the bowl of nutrient snack cubes she had in her hand. "I would never have guessed," he drawled.

-/\\-

"Star charting?"

"Something calming after these last few missions," Kirk agreed.

"But we hate star charting," Elle pointed out.

"Sometimes boredom is better than near-death experiences," Kirk said sagely.

Star charting was soooo boring. Also nauseating. This area of space had _so many_ ion storms. Elle kept ginger ale with her in a super-thermos at all times to avoid puking.

-/\\-

"Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow!"

Elle popped her head up. "That was Tom Baker," she declared to Simba. "Who has Doctor Who on?"

She followed the sound of buzzing and humming to a computer monitor with two quirky characters running from a paper-mache monster. "Cool!"

"Cool indeed," said the lieutenant sitting cross-legged on the floor. Lt. Freeman, programmer with crazy hair. "You like Doctor Who, Elle?"

She sat cross-legged across from him. "Yeah! I like the newer ones, but the old ones are good, too. And the new-new ones, the 22nd century reboot, those are more educational, so that's good, too. What are you doing with the episodes?"

"I'm attempting to convert these old files to holograms," Freeman said.

"Hobby?" Elle asked.

"Yup." He handed her the PADD. "How does that look?"

Elle looked at the lines of code. "Looks very complicated," she said dryly, and handed it back.

"It is," he agreed. "These old sterries are so old and degraded from living through the wars that trying to reconstruct enough data to make a complete three-dimensional image is-" he huffed a sigh. "Time-consuming."

"I _bet_." She looked up at the frozen figures of the Doctor and his companion. "Can I watch?"

"Me or the episode?"

"The episode."

"Sure. Let me know if it starts to look clearer."

Elle gave him a thumbs-up. "How are you going to get rid of all the static?"

"Extensive computer filters," Lt. Freeman replied.

-/\\-

No seriously. So much ginger ale.

-/\\-

"Can I dye my hair?" Elle asked.

"Why?" McCoy asked suspiciously.

"No reason."

McCoy grinned at her sympathetically. "Boredom's gettin' to you, too, huh kiddo?"

Elle flopped dramatically on his office sofa. "I'm soooooooo bored, Bones."

"Why don't you go down to Engineering and help Scotty?"

"I've maxed out my alloted work hours and I quote 'working overtime is child labor and Ah dinnae wish to spend my life in a rehab facility.' Unquote."

McCoy laughed. "What about helping Lt. Freeman with the old entertainment programs?"

"I don't understand the programming things he's doing, and right now he doesn't need anyone to watch the programs for flickers," Elle reported. "He said he'd call when he needed a second pair of eyes."

"Minecraft?" McCoy suggested.

"I'm tired of bulding my castle."

"Pick a sport," he said.

Elle sighed. "Sulu's taking care of his sentient plant. It just had a baby and he can't fence with me."

"You don't want to take care of the plant baby?" McCoy asked.

"I'm allergic," Elle reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Did we update your record for that?" He pulled it up and humphed. "I guess we did."

Elle rolled over and flopped the pillow on her face. "I'm so bored," she said.

McCoy patted her on the ankle. "Well, you go down to the Rec Deck and ask Moira to give you a new hobby. I'm sure she can rustle up something, darn thing seems to be sentient."

Elle sighed. "Fine."She puttered down to the Rec Deck, again, and dropped onto the nearest beanbag. "Moira?"

The games computer blinked a green light. "What's up, Elle?" she asked cheerfully.

"I'm bored. Dr. McCoy suggested I ask you for a new hobby."

Moira hummed. "By my records, you haven't joined any artistic clubs," she said. "Would you like to learn an art?"

Elle thought about it. She'd never been drawn to arts and crafts, but, "Sure. Why not?"

Moira directed her to the nearest non-food sythesizer and it spit out one pound of a reddish-brown clay. "In locker 43-A are the pottery supplies," she said. "Research indicates that manipulating pottery is a good way to manage stress."

Elle poked at the clay. It squished down and left a finger-shaped indent. "Sure. Why not?"

Through various video tutorials, an hour later, Elle had the smallest, most misshapen clay coil pot anyone has ever seen. She was incredibly proud of it.

Lt. Tanzer eventually wandered over to her corner. "Looks like you're having a good time," he said.

Elle pushed her hair out of her eyes, leaving a streak of clay on her forehead. "Look at my clay pot! Isn't it the ugliest thing you've ever seen?"

He blinked. "It's certainly asymmetric," he said carefully.

Elle giggled. "You can say it's awful. It's just my first one."

He ruffled her hair. "I can't wait to see your future ones," he said.

"Do you know anyone else who does pottery?" Elle asked.

"A few Gamma shift crewpersons have pottery sessions," Lt. Tanzer said, after a moment. "Odd hours, though."

"I can always stay up," Elle said. "I don't know why, but since my growth spurt I've been going to sleep super late."

He shook his head. "Night owl," he teased gently. "If you're done with pottery for the day, do you want to help me test the latest version of 4D chess? I need a human. Moira's too smart for me."

"Sure!" Elle looked down at her clay-covered hands, and shirt, and table, and damp cloths. She grinned sheepishly. "Give me a few minutes for cleanup?"

He laughed. "Sure. You may want to consider getting an apron or a coverall for future endeavors."

She rubbed at a spot of clay on her elbow. "Good thinking."

-/\\-

"Welcome to the inaugural game of 4D chess. In one corner we have our overall champion, Mr. Spock, and in the opposite corner we have our favorite underdog..." Elle trailed off, cackling, as Spock's eyebrows rose to meet his fringe. "Never mind." She sat down, chin in her hands, and gestured imperiously. "You may begin."

"Thank you," Kirk said, highly amused.

It was, frankly, a massacre. The captain's usual strategies were useless on this "four-dimensional" board. Elle watched, hovering between absolute hilarity and absolute pity.

"Jim."

The captain waved off a curious McCoy over his shoulder. "Not now, Bones."

"Medical matter, captain."

Kirk looked up. "What, doctor?"

"If you make that move, you'll live to regret it."

Elle snorted so hard she started to cough.

Lt. Tanzer reached over and patted her on the back, his eyes twinkling.

"I already regret it," Kirk said dryly. "I guess you win, Spock."

"Wait," McCoy said. "Can I play it out?"

Everybody's eyebrows went up. Elle stifled another cackle of glee.

Kirk stood up. "It's your funeral."

It was a funeral. _Spock's_. Five moves later, and Spock's chess pieces were in pieces. Outright gaping, Spock tipped over his king.

Elle squealed and cheered. "And the winner is Bones! The unknown champion! Whoo!"

"How-" Kirk started.

McCoy grinned smugly. "You should have more faith in yourself, Jim." He walked out of the room, smirking.

The comm beeped. "Sir, we have a dispatch that requires your command ciphers," Uhura said. "Do you want me to route it to your quarters?"

"No, I'll be up on the Bridge in a second," Kirk said.

Elle reset the board and put it in standby and hurried after Kirk and Spock. She missed the turbolift they were in and had to wait.

By the time she got up there they were already reading the dispatch. "What kind of trouble are they expecting?" Uhura was asking. "You don't send that much firepower, plus a destroyer, if you're not expecting _something_."

Elle stuck her head in over Uhura's shoulder and read the dispatch. Report to the Neutral Zone, these three ships to meet up, blah blah- "What does 'unusual breadth of discretion' mean?" she asked.

Spock gave a Vulcan not-sigh and the captain gave a real sigh. "It doesn't mean anything," Kirk said. "It means I can do what I want, and if they like it, we all get medals, and if they don't, we get fired."

Elle blinked. "That's not cool."

"No, it's not."

"I wonder what the Romulans are doing, to make this much of a fuss," Elle said, going back to the list of ship's names. Constellation, Ineau, Intrepid- "Oh, hey, _Intrepid!_ "

"That ship has a new captain now," Kirk said. "Suvuk. He's a hero, in all the meanings of the word."

"A courageous officer," Spock agreed, which meant Suvuk was the stuff of legends.

Elle smiled. "Cool. It'll be nice to see them all again."

"You wouldn't happen to know what's going on?" Kirk asked, giving her a curious look.

Elle shook her head. "I don't think this is an episode."

The Enterprise got to the rendezvous the next day. Elle hadn't seen so many starships in close proximity. "That ship is _huge_ ," she breathed, gaping at the destroyer-class as it coasted regally at a ten-kilometer limit.

"You should see the crew it has," Kirk said cheerfully. "It's a mostly Denebian crew. They're half the size of a shuttlecraft."

"Can I come?" Elle asked.

"Considering you're the only person who's been able to see a Romulan cultural database firsthand I think you'd better," Kirk said.


	67. Psychological Games with Romulan Commanders

Denebians were tall. And wide. And just generally larger than humans, more intense, more cheerful- Elle couldn't stop smiling as the lieutenant escorted her and the Enterprise triumvirate to the Ineau's conference room.

It was a solid ten minutes of introductions to the various senior officers before they finally made it to somebody Elle knew. "S'task!" she said cheerfully, and gave the ta'al. "It is agreeable to see you again," she said.

"You as well," S'task said. "You may be interested to know the tribbles on the Intrepid have kept a stable population of 11 tribbles since the first litter."

Elle grinned. "One tribble per thirty-nine Vulcans? Why?"

"It is the optimum ratio to provide tribbles with the necessary attention," S'task said.

"Logical," Elle said, fighting back a smile.

"Indeed."

Kirk hid a delighted smile and greeted Captain Suvuk and First Officer T'Pel as they came over. "Captain Suvuk, a pleasure to see you again. You remember Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy? This is our civilian mission consultant, Elle Wilcott."

"Live long and prosper," Elle said politely, in her best Vulcan.

Suvuk replied in kind, and added, "It is an honor to meet the matriarch of the tribble clan." He said all of this with a straight face, immediately endearing himself to Elle.

Kirk smiled.

The briefing proceeded without a hitch as they figured out patrol rankings. Elle sat there surreptitiously eating candy out of her pocket and watching the various officers interact. It just confirmed that everyone posted on a starship was indeed crazy in the best way.

As soon as the briefing ended, everyone began to scatter. McCoy got caught up with the Vulcans to discuss his latest paper on Vulcan nervous systems. Kirk went off with the other captains to play poker, and Spock went to speak to science officers about ion storms.

Elle beamed back to Enterprise. Something was niggling at the back of her brain, but no matter how much she concentrated, it wasn't coming up coherently. _Oh, well._ She took her schoolwork to the Rec Deck and posted herself near Lt. Freeman, who was again working on translating old TV programs to interactive holograms. This time it was the Third Doctor.

"You're not going to make the bad guys interactive, right?" Elle asked, watching plastic automatons chase the Doctor and Sarah Jane out of a factory.

Lt. Freeman smirked. "You don't wanna run for your life? A little light exercise ripping arms off of mannequins?"

"No?" Elle replied doubtfully. "Do _you_ wanna rip arms off of mannequins? Because that sounds like a problem for Bones."

He blinked at her, surprised, and they both cracked up.

"No," Freeman wheezed, in between chuckles, "you're right." He put down his toolkit and leaned against the console, holding his stomach as he cackled.

Elle leaned back in her beanbag and laughed. "It would be cool to join the adventures though. Are you going to put the person in place of the Doctor's companion or are they going to be, like, NPC?"

"Just a viewer to start with," Lt. Freeman said. "Once we get them fully holographic then we can work on computer AI's to interact with the viewers. One day we'll have fully adaptive programs..."

Elle thought about the future holodeck. "I'm sure we will," she said confidently.

"Excellent," Lt. Freeman said, and got back under the console to plug his PADD into the main hard drive.

He went back onshift only ten minutes later, so Elle finished her schoolwork and went back to locker 43-A for her pottery supplies.

The Ugly Clay Pot was done cooling down, so she went next to the hotbox kiln and got it out.

"You've cracked under the strain," Elle told it, examining the hairline fracture with dismay. "You're fired." She realized the pun in her words and giggled. "Nice."

"Talkin' to inanimate objects?" Scotty teased, passing by on the way to the snack bar.

Elle showed him the clay pot. "I made it, what do you think?" she asked, hiding a smirk and giving him her best puppy eyes.

He eyed it. "Ehm, well," he said. "It's ah interesting piece, to be sure." He scratched the back of his neck. "Verra interestin'."

She broke into laughter. "It's awful, isn't it? I kind of want to give it to Spock as a present and see what he says."

Scotty sniggered. "Only if you sell tickets, lass."

"Nah, that'd be mean. I think I'll just recycle it and get more clay."

"No, don't do that," Scotty protested. "You should keep it, and later on when you've improved, you can take it out and compare your progress."

Elle blinked slowly. "Good idea." She put it in the pocket of her hoodie.

Over the next two hours she crafted another two pots, a little larger than the first one, and put them all side by side to compare. She picked up the last one. "Much better. Much less wonky. Maybe don't crack this time?"

It made no promises.

She placed it gently in the mini-kiln and closed the door. It locked and began to heat up. She squashed the other pot back into a lump of clay and put it in an airtight container with a damp rag to keep it safe. "Moira?" she asked, washing her hands in the nearest sink.

"Yes?"

"You were right. Smashing clay is a great stress-reliever."

The red alert klaxon whooped in her ear a moment later. "Good feeling gone," Elle gasped, as her adrenaline levels shot sky-high. "What's going on?"

Moira didn't answer.

Elle raced to her quarters and hopped on the computer. Three Romulan warbirds had crossed the Neutral Zone. Oop, one down, one fleeing from the last warbird- Elle gaped as the final warbird, an older model, shot its own fellow. The Romulan ship went out in a blaze of plasma.

Elle gaped as the final warbird wheeled around to face the Enterprise. Nothing else happened.

She put on her shoes and headed for the bridge. The turbolift opened with Kirk and Spock inside. "Going somewhere?" Kirk asked.

Elle got in. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Commander Ael t'Rllaillieu of _Bloodwing_ apparently has something to tell us," Kirk said mildly. "We're about to meet her in the transporter room. You sure this isn't an episode, Elle?"

Elle stared at them. "You said _Ael_ t'Rllaillieu? Of _Bloodwing_?" She started to grin. "This is a book! Oh man, I'm so excited."

"Why, what?" Kirk asked.

They got out of the turbolift and Elle hurried to keep pace with them. "Oh, this is gonna be so good," she said, beaming. "Ael is awesome! Oh man, oh man. Oh, except the Vulcan thing, we gotta warn the Intrepid-" They entered the transporter room.

"One tick, captain," Chief Kyle reported.

"Understood." Kirk met Elle's gaze. "Is she going to be an ally?"

Elle nodded eagerly. "You really need to listen to her."

Kirk nodded. "All right then." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're excused."

Elle's jaw dropped. "What? But she's so cool!"

"And you're highly classified," Kirk said, amused. "Dismissed."

Elle gave the heaving sigh of the teenage unimpressed, and left just as Dr. McCoy came in. "Whatever," she muttered petulantly, and went up on the bridge to sulk.

"What are you doing up here?" Sulu asked, surprised.

Elle folded her arms and leaned against the empty captain's chair. "I can't meet the Commander yet because I'm 'classified'."

"Ah, right."

She studied the lines of the Romulan warbird hovering off their bow. "That's an older ship, not like the Klingon castoffs," she said.

"You're right, it's a classic ship, good eye," Sulu said. "We've had quite a few skirmishes with this ship."

Elle nodded. "Cool."

"Just one potshot?" Chekov asked.

"No," Sulu said firmly.

"A leetle one. Half-power."

Elle stifled a giggle. "You can't blow up our ticket," she said.

They turned to her interestedly. "You know what's going on?" Sulu asked.

"Oh yeah. You're not gonna like it."

"Well don't just leave us on a cliff-hanger," Sulu protested.

"Hold on," Uhura said, and put a hand to her earpiece. "I'm getting a message from Intrepid, a data burst. They've hit a bad ion storm."

Elle's levity dropped. "The Intrepid. They're about to be attacked by Romulans."

"Uhura, raise them," Sulu snapped. "Warn them."

"I can't get through, the storm is interfering with communications," Uhura said. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."

He answered the hail. "What is it, Lt?"

"Sir, the Intrepid is about to be attacked by Romulans," Uhura reported.

"Who's closest? Constellation? Get them on the horn, direct them to Intrepid's position immediately," Kirk said.

"We're closer sir," Sulu said.

There was a tense second of silence. "No. We need to stay with Bloodwing," the captain said. "Kirk out."

Everyone on the bridge looked at Elle.

She shook her head. "I can't say anything else until the captain agrees. Sorry." She chewed on her lip. _They better not kill my tribbles_ , she thought fiercely. "Bloodwing won't do anything though."

"Quarter-power, they won't even feel it," Chekov said abruptly.

Elle laughed.

The comm whistled. "Elle to the Briefing Room," Kirk's voice said, in the _Not Happy_ tone of voice.

Elle's eyes widened and she nodded at Uhura.

"She's on her way, sir," Uhura told the captain.

-/\\-

Elle entered the briefing room and found the captain, Spock, and Bones staring tensely at the Romulan commander. "Captain," Elle said, going to stand next to him.

"Thank you," Kirk said. He gave the Romulan a cool smile. "Commander, as requested for this briefing, our civilian mission consultant."

Ah. Elle turned to the commander, bowed in the Rihannsu manner appropriately enough for a youngster to an elder, and said, "I am honored, commander. I am Elle Wilcott."

The commander returned the bow and gave her an odd little smile. "I am Ael."

"Ma'am," Elle said politely.

Ael's smile widened. "You used your few minutes of access well, I see," was all she said.

"I did my best," Elle said, and sat in between Kirk and Bones.

"Do you know why I asked for your presence, Miss Wilcott?" Ael asked, calmly ignoring the adults.

Elle raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming you wanted the presence of someone easier to read than Captain Kirk. And, someone vulnerable enough to use against him."

"Are you easier to read?" Ael asked, amused.

Elle shrugged. "I mean, I am fourteen, so... yeah."

"I did not ask you here as emotional blackmail against your captain," Ael said. "I asked for you because you are the civilian mission consultant, and you were among Rihannsu for a brief time, and you will be able to tell that _I_ am telling the truth."

Elle resisted the urge to bite her lip. "I see," was all she said.

Ael turned to face the adults. "Captain, do you know of a planet named Levaeri V?"

"It's in Romulan space," the captain said.

"Yes. The planet is uninhabited, but there is a research station orbiting it. The Empire has been looking into the nature of genetic material that governs and transmits life along with various messenger segments."

"DNA and RNA," McCoy said.

"Yes. The research is nearly complete and if it allowed to be completed, it will destroy both my civilization and yours. Specifically, this research has been targeting Vulcan genetic material."

Spock sat up straight. "For what purpose?"

"To give Romulans the paramental abilities of trained Vulcans," Ael replied.

Elle dropped her head into her hands, thinking of the Intrepid. "Oh, no."

They discussed the specifics, what kind of RNA transmission was possible, what kind of mental gifts would pass over.

Bones looked ill at the possibility. "But you would need-"

"Donor tissue, yes," Ael said. "Brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid cultures, from mentally talented Vulcans. A great deal of it. So the researchers began, er, borrowing, Vulcans."

"That's why they're after Intrepid," Kirk said sharply.

Spock nodded. "That would also explain why the amount of lost Vulcan ships in the area was so high. I could not find the correlation between ion storms and the amount of Vulcan ships going missing."

"Now you have," Ael said.

Bones was almost trembling with suppressed rage. "This is monstrous," he said tightly.

"Certain it is, doctor," Ael said. "What honor is there in taking one's enemies by stealth, giving them no chance to fight back? But teher's worse to come. Can you imagine, in the corrupt High Command, the Senate, and the Praetorate, all with the abilities of Vulcans, if Surak had never shown Vulcans the logics of peace and ethical behavior?"

Spock looked grave. "A world with no freedom, only ruthless opportunity and domination. War..."

"Worse than war," Elle said faintly. "No one would be able to even think in opposition to the rulers."

Ael nodded. "A world in which honor and trust would swiftly become devalued. The process has already started. There is infighting already as they vie to become the first or the only to have those powers." She gave Kirk an assessing look. "I will be open with you. I am a warrior, and I find peace very dull. But honor I cherish, and if this new power is allowed to rise, it will destroy the very Empire to which I swore my loyalty. I will not stand by and let it die. The resarch station at Levaeri V must be destroyed before the information and materials there can be distributed through the Empire."

Kirk glanced over at Elle.

She nodded. This was the real deal.

Kirk looked over at Ael, and frowned. "Commander, you have come a long way to warn us. But why tell us this?"

Ael shook her head. "There is no help to be found among friends. At such a time, one must recourse to one's enemies. And of all my enemies, I esteem you highest. You are a fierce combatant, but you have never been less than courteous."

Elle glanced from one to the other.

Kirk raised an eyebrow. "I assume you want the Enterprise to help you destroy the station?"

"Yes."

"Therein lies the problem. While I am willing to overlook your breach of the Zone, there is no way your High Command will overlook the Enterprise crossing over. How do you propose to sneak us over?"

Ael leaned back in her chair. "I was thinking to capture the Enterprise. Would you mind?"

As McCoy sputtered in outrage, Kirk turned to give Elle a Look that meant 'I _cannot believe_ you didn't give me prior warning and you _better not_ say anything confidential or you're grounded for _life_.' For being completely psi-null, the captain was exceedingly eloquent in non-verbal communication.

Elle grinned.

Kirk rolled his eyes and turned back to Ael to regard her with a flat look. "If that was a joke, it was in poor taste," he said crisply.

Ael grinned. "It was no joke, and no trap. Do you think I am mad, to threaten you while two starships hang off the bows?"

Elle hid a grin as she watched the Rihannsu commander tell them her proposed plan of action. It was insane. It was brilliant. It was the only possible way to do it.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Kirk asked. "Or if you haven't been brainwashed to truly believe what you're proposing?"

Ael lifted her chin. "Ask your Mr. Spock to mindmeld with me."

Spock agreed, and led Commander Ael away.

Kirk and Bones looked at Elle. "I cannot believe you didn't tell us," the captain said.

"Well, I didn't realize it until Bloodwing came," Elle retorted, crossing her arms defensively. "Star charting was boring!"

"True," Kirk said. "Is this the real deal?"

Elle nodded.

"All right." Kirk took a deep breath. "Go on, get something to eat, and get ready. If we agree to do this, we're going to need everybody on their top game."

"Yes, sir," Elle said, and exited to the musical tones of Bones' angry Southern ranting on the topic of 'fool-headed something-or-others'.


	68. Enemies and Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention already that these Romulans and this wonderful subplot are from My Enemy, My Ally, one of the Star Trek novels? I don't remember. Anywho.

"Elle to transporter room two."

Elle froze mid-chew of her lentil soup. She swallowed it, coughed, and tapped the nearest comm. "On my way," she said, and coughed again to dislodge the one remaining lentil.

She tossed the rest of her soup back into the recycler and bolted for the transporter room. The captain, Spock, Bones, Lt. Kerasus from Linguistics, and Commander Ael were waiting for her.

"Elle," the commander greeted, giving her a mischievous grin.

Elle returned the grin. "Commander Ael," she replied.

Kirk's gaze narrowed between them but he let it go. He nodded to Chief Kyle. "Energize."

Elle frowned as someone beamed aboard. Another Romulan, the subcommander. _Tafv._ The commander's son. The _traitor_. Oh _no_. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Spock caught sight of her pale face and gave her a concerned eyebrow.

Elle forced herself to stop biting her lip and twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt. She shook her head.

Ael handled the introductions with aplomb. When she got to Elle last, Tafv stopped mid-nod and swept her with a critical gaze.

"Subcommander," Elle said politely, trying to hide her nervousness.

He bowed. "Miss Wilcott." He looked away, back to Ael and Kirk, his expression questioning.

"The Intrepid has been taken," Kirk said. "We'll have to implement your commander's plan sooner rather than later."

Tafv inclined his head in understanding, and he looked so Vulcan in that moment, Elle wanted to cry.

They all got back on the transporter dais. "Have the rest of the department heads beam over immediately following us," Kirk ordered. "Energize." And they beamed over to the Ineau.

-/\\-

Watching Captain Kirk introduce Commander Ael t'Rllaillieu and her son, Subcommander Tafv, to the thirty-six department heads and senior officers of the three remaining starships was possibly the funniest thing that had happened all year. Nobody got violent about it, thank the Great Bird, but it had been five minutes and people still hadn't quieted down.

The captain let them have their outburst; he snagged Elle and walked her over to the far side of the briefing room. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Is this going to work?" he asked bluntly.

"It has to," Elle said. She glanced at Ael and Tafv, a somber spot of grey and rust amongst the colorful Fleet uniforms. "I trust Commander Ael."

Kirk's eyes narrowed when he realized what she wasn't saying. "Is there reason to be concerned?"

"I don't know," Elle said. "Maybe. I'll have to speak to the commander about him."

"You can't," Kirk replied immediately.

Elle thought of _mnhei'sahe,_ of another Romulan commander's face. "I have to. She'll understand."

"You can't," Kirk said. "Not without revealing your status."

Oh yeah. Elle bit her lip. "I'll figure out a way," she said. "And I know when he's going to make his move, so we'll be prepared on our side, anyway. I'll tell you later."

The assorted crews were starting to settle down. Kirk straightened his uniform shirt and put on his game face.

"You got this, captain," she said, and followed him back to the main table.

The captain called the meeting to order, and Spock took over the job of describing the problem, and the plan. "The Romulan Empire has been targeting and abducting Vulcans for the last year using artificially generated ion storms in an attempt to clone telepathic brain matter, to use as mind control against its own people and its enemies," Spock said, and his matter-of-fact tone shocked them all into silence. "The program is based on a research station orbiting Levaeri V. That is where the Intrepid will be. The plan is to fake the Bloodwing's capture of the Enterprise. Once in tow, the ships will stop at Levaeri V under a pretext. Once there, both crews will storm the research station, retrieve the Intrepid and the Intrepid's crew, and either capture or destroy the cloned brainmatter. We will then return to Federation space."

The reaction to Spock's dry recitation could be likened to a dull roar. Elle fought the urge to put her hands over her ears.

"It would break almost every reg in the book," Captain Walsh was saying. "Allowing hostiles into classified areas. Entering into private alliances with foreign powers. Espionage again. Destruction of private property..."

"I have those powers, Mike," Captain Kirk said calmly. "That's what unusual breadth of discretion is for."

"I know. But-" Walsh broke off with a muttered sigh. "I don't like it, but Ael's idea is the best we've got, then."

Tafv spoke up. "I assure you, gentlefolk, that this is a sacifice for us, as well. We have nothing to gain from it. If it succeeds, we will have nothing but disgrace. We are all willing to risk that for the Commander's sake. It's a matter of _mnhei'sahe_. But we face far worse if we fail."

Elle pressed her lips together.

"Noted, Subcommander," Kirk said. "One moment. Lt. Kerasus, mneh-what?"

Lt. Kerasus explained the concept.

"It's like what the Greeks used to call _agape_ ," Elle chimed in, when they still looked confused. "A love based on moral principles, not emotion."

Tafv gave her a sharp look, and Ael gave her a curious one.

Lt. Kerasus gave Elle a high five. "That's exactly what it's like. Excellent references."

Elle grinned, red-faced.

One of the junior officers brought confirmation that the Intrepid had been captured and taken over the Romulan boundary line.

"That's it, then," Kirk said. "Approximately forty Romulans will beam over from Bloodwing to Enterprise. Commander, Subcommander, if you could beam back with Dr. McCoy, Mr. Spock, and Elle to work out quartering for your crew. Everyone else, you have your assignments. At towing speed, it'll take two and a half days to get to Levaeri. Dismissed."

Everyone hurried out, except for the three Star Fleet captains.

Elle trailed behind Spock as their group made for the transporter room.

"How did you know what _mnhei'sahe_ is?" Tafv asked her.

Elle lifted her chin, didn't look at him. "I was told."

"By whom?" he demanded.

"By a Romulan commander."

The quiet, sharp inhale from both Romulans might as well have been a shout.

Spock ushered them into the transporter room.

-/\\-

As soon as they were fully materialized, Spock directed Elle to go with Doctor McCoy and assist him with replicating the necessary intradermal translators. Elle went without a fuss; Tafv made her nervous.

"You think you can handle it?" McCoy asked kindly, as they coaxed the replicator into spitting out forty-five translators. "Or do we need to keep you on busy work so you don't interact with them?"

"I think I can handle it," Elle said, after a long second. "And I'm not just saying that."

"If there's a point where you can't, you just let me know," McCoy said. "If not, there's still time for you to go with Constellation."

"And miss all the fun?" Elle said, scandalized. "This is my chance to really talk to Commander Ael, to meet her crew, to learn some cool moves. They're so cool, Bones."

"To possibly die?" McCoy pointed out.

Elle waved a hand. "We all almost die all the time."

"Well, you're not wrong," McCoy admitted.

"And besides," Elle said. "This is important."

The comm whistled. "Captain Kirk to Elle."

"Elle here," she said, smacking the nearest wall comm.

"Come to my quarters as soon as you're able. We need to have that conversation."

Elle grimaced and looked over at Bones, who waved her away. "I'm on my way. Elle out." She gave Bones a hug and went to speak to the captain.

He was waiting for her with a hot mug of apple cider and Spock. "All right, Elle," he said, gesturing her to take a seat. "Before anything else catches us by surprise, spill. All the details, everything you remember, everything about subcommander Tafv, the whole shebang."

Elle obediently told him everything she remembered from reading the novel, and everything she remembered about Tafv's attempt at taking over the Enterprise. "He times it so the mission on Levaeri station still gets accomplished," she said. "We won't have to worry about that."

"We'll just everything else," Kirk said dryly, and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "How do we keep getting into these messes?"

"Well, the ship is named Enterprise," Elle said. "This is just another big enterprise."

Kirk sat up and scowled at her. "Have you been talking to the Commander?"

"No," Elle said.

"That's exactly what she said, about names, naming things."

Elle smiled. "That part always made sense to me. Names have power. What did K't'lk say, about naming the circumstances you wished to create?"

Kirk shook his head. "Naming the circumstances of not actually surrendering the Enterprise to the Romulans is all I want."

"And the Intrepid," Elle said. "And the giant jar of brain matter."

"And that," Kirk conceded.

-/\\-

The "battle" between the Bloodwing and the Enterprise was swift and painless, and before Elle finished her schoolwork for the day, the Enterprise was being towed through the Neutral Zone by a Romulan ship.

She took up a beanbag in the Main Rec Room to play Minecraft and watch as the various Romulan personnel entered to be assigned translators and posts. It was a strange sight, but the assorted Enterprise crew seemed more curious than hostile. Good.

Spock came into the Rec Room, scanned the area, and walked over to her. "Come along," he told her.

She dropped her game and got to her feet. "Where we goin'?" she asked.

He led her to a training room with two other security personnel, Martinez and Peele. "With Romulans onboard, instead of your science lessons, I am going to teach you how to do the Vulcan nerve pinch, as well as several forms of _suus mahna_ that will serve you well against an opponent with greater bone density such as Vulcans or Romulans. Or Klingons."

Elle frowned. "I thought you were going to test my esper rating again before you did that?"

"This will be the test," Spock said, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "If you can do it, you are high enough on the rating to learn it."

Elle grinned. "Cool. Let's do it."

Peele volunteered as the first guinea pig. Spock explained where the nerve cluster was, how to apply the appropriate pressure, and how to send a burst of neuropathic energy through the nerves. "Go ahead," he said. "Lt. Peele, please refrain from becoming tense."

"I'll try my best," Peele said doubtfully, but he let Elle find the nerve cluster along his shoulder.

Elle took a deep breath, tried to do what Spock showed her, and pinched.

Nothing happened. Peele and Martinez traded a long-suffering look.

"Try again," Spock said.

She moved her fingers a few millimeters, concentrated, and pinched hard.

Peele dropped like a rock.

Martinez whistled, impressed. " _Nice_."

Spock's lips quirked up. "Adequate."

Peele, at their feet, stirred and groaned. "Ow," he said.

Elle helped him up. "Sorry," she said, as he rubbed at his sore neck.

"No, that was good," Peele said, grimacing. "It's an important technique."

Spock had her do it twice more until he was satisfied she had learned the technique. Then they moved on to using the neck pinch while fighting. After a short break, Spock showed her two different self-defense combinations. One to escape a hold, and one to knock out an opponent. "We will practice these two forms every day, until you are competent," he said.

"What if I end up using them before I'm competent?" Elle asked.

Spock just scowled and looked grave. "We shall have to pray that does not happen."

Elle paused. "Do Vulcans pray?"

Spock quirked a not-smile. "That is a discussion for another day, _ax'nav_. It is time for my shift on the bridge."

Elle went to her quarters, showered, changed, and headed to the mess hall to eat. As soon as she sat down with her sandwich, the red alert began to whoop.

"Red alert," Spock's voice announced. "Battle stations, battle stations. This is not a drill."

A moment later the all call came on with a different voice. "This is t'Rllailleiu," Ael said. "Rihannsu, report at speed to your assigned posts. Helmets all, and make sure any distinguishing insignia of Bloodwing about you are removed. If in doubt about any necessary action, consult with your 'prisoners.'" Even over the comm, you could hear her wry grin. "Remember, you are supposed to be Cuirass crew, do nothing to attract attention to yourselves when we are monitored. Honor to you, and mnhei'sahe. Out."

Elle stuffed the sandwich in her pocket, chugged her juice, and ran for her quarters, her heart hammering with adrenaline. What was going on?

The red alert whooped for another minute and then went quiet.

Elle waited. And waited. She couldn't eat, her stomach was cramping from nerves. It was another ship, calling to check on them. What was taking so long? What was going on? Had they been discovered?

An eternity later, which the chrono informed Elle was actually thirty-four minutes, Spock announced, "all clear."

Elle threw herself backwards on her bed and let herself breathe. Simba crawled up her side and nestled under her chin, purring soothingly. It helped a little.

-/\\-

Elle couldn't sleep. Tomorrow was the big day. Elle's role was to keep her head down and play baby civilian, but the tension on the ship was a physical weight on her lungs, one that kept her mind awake and buzzing.

She slipped out of bed, tucked her meal card into her boot, and went down to the Observation Deck. There was no one there, so so get her favorite seat on the cushioned bench. These were alien stars, belonging to Romulan rulers.

The door slid open and someone came in with near silent steps.

"Commander," Elle said, catching sight of her in the transparisteel reflection.

"It's very late for you, isn't it young one?" Ael asked, coming to sit on the bench beside her.

They were same height. It was odd. Elle couldn't imagine possessing the sheer amount of presence Ael commanded. "Couldn't sleep," Elle replied. "I'm nervous."

"Understandable. And what do humans do when they are nervous?"

Elle smiled slightly. "I don't know about all humans, but I like to watch the stars and meditate. Play games. I'm learning pottery."

"Communing with the Earth," Ael said. "Something to keep you grounded as you journey through space. A wise choice."

Elle smiled. "I've never thought about it like that." She watched Ael's profile as the Rihannsu looked at the stars. "Are you nervous?"

"Do you want an honest answer?" Ael asked.

"If you wish to give it," Elle replied cautiously.

Ael smiled. "Are you sure you are not the captain's daughter? That was a good answer."

Elle quirked a grin. "Only on paper, commander, but thank you. He is a very good teacher."

"He is a good man," Ael said. "I could not have come to anyone else with this." She raised an eyebrow. "I am surprised they allowed you to come on this venture. If we fail-"

"We won't fail," Elle promised.

"You are so sure?"

Elle thought of Tafv. Winced. "I have faith," she said. "In my captain, in my crew. In your _mnhei'sahe_."

"And that if my crew?" Ael asked, dark eyes sharp and analytical.

Elle's tongue froze to the roof of her mouth. The captain's command warred with her urge to tell the truth and she just stared at the commander mutely.

"I see," Ael said softly. "Who of my crew will betray me?"

Elle looked down at her white-knuckled clasped hands. "It's-" she couldn't. "It's, he, they were cousins. It's _mnhei'sahe,_ too."

Ael stilled beside her. "Tafv."

Elle bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"How did you know?" Ael asked.

"I spoke to her," Elle said. "I didn't want her to die. She said she wouldn't die, only, lose her names. And it was loyalty to her people that made her let us take the device. We talked about Rihannsu with honor, ones that would keep the Empire from killing itself, like you."

"I could do nothing for her," Ael said, sorrow in her eyes though her voice remained steady.

"I kept them," Elle said. "Her names."

Ael stared at her. "What?"

"Her names." Elle fidgeted. "I'm not Rihan, I don't have to follow your rules. So I wrote them down. All four. They're in my quarters."

Ael stared at her. "Why?" she asked.

"Someone had to," Elle said. "She did something good. She should be remembered. And, I know one day we won't be enemies, so, why not start now?"

"And Tafv?" Ael asked. "How did you know his intentions?"

"Thirty minutes access to cultural database," Elle said, which was not a lie, instead of saying, 'I read it in the book about your life.'

Ael stood, and for a brief second she looked small and tired, backlit by the stars. "Elements bless you, child," she said gently, and placed her hand on Elle's head. Then she squared her shoulders and went off to troubleshoot betrayal in the ranks.

Elle slid off the bench and sat on the floor, hoping uneasily that she hadn't just condemned a man to death.

The call came a half-hour later. "Elle, report to my office." The captain sounded tired.

Elle unfolded herself from the floor and answered the summons. Kirk and Spock were waiting for her, and she said immediately, "I didn't tell her. She guessed."

The captain grinned humorlessly. "Yes, the commander has a habit of doing that, doesn't she? You're not in trouble, Elle, she told us she pressed you for information."

"I didn't tell her about the book," Elle said.

"You're becoming quite the little diplomat."

Elle made a face. "Ew."

Kirk laughed. "Regardless, good job keeping your cool."

"What's she going to do about Tafv?" Elle asked.

"She's going to confront him," Kirk said. "Hopefully he changes his mind, but if not... it's under her jurisdiction."

"Okay." Elle bit her lip. "I hope everything's going to be okay."

Kirk kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be okay. Get some rest, kiddo. Big day tomorrow."


	69. Vibe Checks and Shouting Malfunctions

Breakfast was a leisurely affair as classes were cancelled due to invasion of enemy space. What a thing to write on a report card... Elle stifled a giggle into her hot cocoa.

Captain Kirk came into the mess hall, followed by Ael. They both got coffees and proceeded to sit across from Elle.

"Good morning?" Elle asked.

"Thank you, Elle," Ael said formally. "I spoke to Tafv yesterday." She bowed her head over her coffee. "You were correct."

"I'm so sorry," Elle said, all enjoyment gone.

"He is in the brig until we can deal with him," Ael said. "He has refused to name his collaborators."

"What are we gonna do?" Elle asked.

"We may have to destroy Bloodwing and throw ourselves on the Federation's mercy," Ael said grimly.

Elle's eyes widened. "You can't do that!"

"It would not be preferable, no," Ael said.

Elle valiantly didn't add that Ael was supposed to be the Romulan emperor later, so she kind of needed to stay in Romulan space. "If Tafv isn't around to give orders, isn't it moot?" she asked.

"Perhaps."

The captain spoke up. "We've changed around the invasion roster, left slightly more people behind to watch both ships. We're keeping this quiet, though."

"Don't wanna pysch people out," Elle agreed.

Kirk gave her a teasing smile. "Are you psyched out, Elle?"

"No," Elle said stoutly.

Both commanding officers smiled at her.

-/\\-

"You are the mission consultant?"

Elle looked up to find one of the Rihannsu, Uhura's bridge replacement, looking at her. "Antecenturion t'Khialmnae, right?" Elle asked, standing up from her Minecraft game.

"Aidoann, please," the woman replied, giving a wry grin. "Though your pronunciation is admirable."

Elle made a face. "I'm learning Vulcan."

"Ah."

Elle tilted her head. "Did you have a question, or need me for something?"

"Yes, well, my commander suggested I speak to the Enterprise mission consultant. I didn't think you would be so young." Aidoann appraised her with those large, doe-like eyes, behind which lay a razor-sharp intellect.

Elle grinned. "It's a really fancy way of saying I'm the comic relief."

"How did you know?" Aidoann asked abruptly. "None of us knew."

"About?"

"Tafv."

"Oh." Elle shifted uneasily. "I don't know. He just had that kinda vibe."

"Vibe?"

"A feeling," Elle explained. "Like intuition, or what my psych studies call thin-slicing, pattern recognition and information collation so fast that it only shows up as a feeling you get in your gut. I, my generation calls it a vibe."

Aidoann regarded her. "I see."

"You guys are the same age, right?" Elle asked. "Maybe? I know you age slower than us."

Aidoann's mouth lifted in a smile. "We are the same age, yes. As far as the career in the fleet, we grew up together. Our commander was, well, our commander."

Elle smiled. "Mother-figure to the whole crew?"

"Yes."

Elle's smile turned into a grin. "Yeah, I got that kinda vibe, too."

"And from me?" Aidoann asked.

Elle wrinkled her nose. "Are you using me as a psych test?"

"Maybe," Aidoann said, meeting her gaze.

Elle folded her arms, looked at Aidoann. Was the antecenturion nervous about later? She certainly wasn't going to betray Ael. She was completely loyal. Is that what she was looking for? "If I told you that you remind me of Spock, would that be any comfort?" Elle finally asked.

Aidoann inclined her head. "Of a sort," she said. "Thank you, mission consultant."

"Call me Elle," she offered.

"Elle, then." Aidoann wandered off to another part of the Rec deck.

Elle sat back down to her Minecraft game. "Well that was weird," she said.

"MNEUIRQITJFSSSSSSRUIPKLMOINIRERDUTOAAU!"

Elle fell out of her beanbag at the shout. "What in the Great Bird!" she yelped, barely catching her game controller. She tossed the controller into the beanbag and headed towards the sound of the shout.

The captain was there, along with Ael, Aidoann, Uhura, Lt. Freeman, and Dr. McCoy. "You've got a malfunction somewhere," the captain said, hiding a smile.

"A malfunction that shouts," McCoy added helpfully.

"It's not malfunctioning," Lt. Freeman said, diving back under the console. "It's doing exactly what we want it to do."

"Keyboard smash?" Elle asked, sliding up next to Uhura. "Isn't this the Doctor Who project?"

"It's the code for it," Lt. Freeman said, voice muffled from the console interior. "Okay, try it Nyota."

Uhura looked over at the captain. "Say something, sir."

"Certainly. Aren't you supposed to be on the bridge?"

"RUIQOTEPIGIOLWETOURYIOWLCIOWASCORETYII," the console obligingly screeched.

Elle clapped her hands over her ears. "It definitely shouts," she said, unhelpfully.

"It's also the key to that little problem we had earlier," Uhura said. "When Battlequeen came to inspect us, we had to use crew as message runners because the comm system leaks. It takes too long to learn to automatically compensate for signal leakage with small-end encryption, so this is the blanket solution. Anyone who picks up any internal comm traffic from the Enterprise will get an earful of nonsense, and it'll just sound like a comm glitch."

Kirk frowned. "Can we hook up a transceiver with this program to an independent power source and use them as interference buoys?"

Freeman and Uhura traded a glance. "Yes, sir," Uhura said.

"How many can you give me?"

"Four?" Freeman said. "We don't dare overdrain the parts bank."

"Get to it."

Freeman looked at Elle. "You want to help?" he asked.

"You know me, I like to sow chaos," Elle deadpanned.

"Do you?" Ael asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Madam, you haven't seen her go after an errant admiral," Kirk said dryly. "Talk about chaos."

"Hey!" Elle protested, a hot blush rising all the way to the tops of her ears. "I didn't start any fights."

"No, you finished it," Kirk told her, and pressed a kiss to her head. "Go make the Chaos Buoys."

It was a thrilling speed-run of parts assembly with all spare hands from Maintenance and Engineering. Elle was in charge of the finicky connections requiring small hands and delicate fingers.

"Okay, Elle, test this one," Freeman said.

Elle flicked the switch and spoke into the mocked-up comm system. "A peanut sat on a railroad track, his heart was all aflutter," she sang.

"RJYOELJLEERRTPEIJELYPBGSLSJWOCUYVETORSLIB," the final buoy shrieked.

Elle stuck a finger in her ear and wiggled it. "Is it just me or are they coming out more shrill?" she asked.

"All the better to hurt sensitive Rihannsu hearing," Uhura said. "Are you sure you're not Romulan, Elle?"

"I'm part bat, you know that," Elle sniffed.

"All right, let's get these up to the torpedo bays," Uhura ordered.

-/\\-

Elle, her job done, wandered back up to the Rec Deck. They had two hours before the Enterprise and Bloodwing would breakaway from the Romulan escort and head to Levaeri V.

"Elle!" Lt. Wani called, from the pool. "We need one more, come play with us!"

Ah, Delta shift. The majority of them were going to hold the fort on the Enterprise, since, on the whole, they were more sleep-deprived than usual, and nobody needed sleep-deprived people with phasers.

Elle walked over to the pool. "What are you playing?"

"Water polo with a side of splashing," the lieutenant replied. "Something light to take our mind off the whole act of war thing."

Elle grinned. "Give me two seconds." She went to change into her swimsuit and a wrap dress over that, and went back to the pool. "Incoming!" she announced, and dropped into the pool.

The splash was marvelous. The entirety of the opposing team was completely swamped.

Lt. Wani grinned. "I think that's one point for us."

"We want her on our team!" Lt. Rombel protested.

"We're the ones that needed one more person," Wani replied.

Elle clung to the side of the pool. "You know I'm not very good at it," she said.

"That doesn't matter. It's the principle of the thing." And that was that.

They played and the other team won by three points.

Elle hauled herself out of the pool just as the yellow alert came on. "All hands, this is the captain," said the all-call, and all movement in the rec deck stilled. "One minute to battle stations. Repeat, one minute."

Everyone scattered, to get dressed or go to stations, or to direct their prayers to assorted deities.

Elle toweled herself off and tied the wrap dress on over her swimsuit. She didn't have time to go back to her quarters, and regulations were to stay put. She sank into the nearest chair, toweling her hair dry. _Elements, whatever Commander Ael believes in, please let this work. I don't want to be brainwashed into a Rihannsu spy._

Red alert signaled the one minute. "Battle stations, battle stations," came the calm announcement, and in her bones she felt the almost subconscious register of straining engines, rumbling through the deck plates.

Elle chewed on her lip. They should've broken away. Why weren't they breaking away from the tow?

Before she could check the computer readouts, the Enterprise jerked violently to the left. They were free. Now to get rid of the four Romulan ships escorting them.


	70. Department Heads

Elle stayed put. There was no other choice. She clenched her hands into the wet towel, twisting the terrycloth fabric into knots, biting her lip so hard she drew blood.

The all-clear came what seemed an eternity (six minutes) later. "All-clear. Seven hours to Levaeri V. General reminder: Department heads meeting in one hour. All crew on boarding party should have minimum four hours rest. Repeat, seven hours to Levaeri V." Sulu sounded stressed, over the comm.

"All that, for six minutes," Elle whispered, forcibly relaxing her hands.

"The most important six minutes of our life so far," Moira said, from the nearest games console. "What are you going to do for seven hours?"

Elle shook her head. "I'm going to have a little wander, walk out some of my adrenaline, and then I'm supposed to be at the meeting."

Moira didn't have eyebrows to raise, but the intonation was there all the same. "And what is your department, pray tell?"

Elle grinned. "Department of Civilians No Longer Allowed to Alter Maintenance Equipment," she said.

Moira's synthetic cackle was better than Elle's. "Better get going, then."

Elle's wandering meander ended in one of the shuttlebays, and there she found Ael and Captain Kirk modifying one of Bloodwing's shuttle couriers. "Whatcha doin?" Elle asked.

"This is going to be our fifth shouting malfunction," Kirk said dryly.

Elle smoothed a hand down the support strut of the hatch. "It's a nice little ship."

"My personal courier," Ael said. "A sacrifice, one willing to be made." She straightened up and ushered the two humans from the little ship. "He's on a timer, let's go."

They watched the courier lift itself on autopilot and fly away into space, ready to cause chaos.

"Pre-attack briefing," Kirk reminded them, and offered his arm to Elle.

She linked elbows with him.

"This business of names," Kirk said slowly, picking up a conversation between him and Ael.

Ael frowned. "It's not names, specifically. Just words. Even in your own world, people have died for them. Or because of them. One learns to be careful what one says, in such a world. And like anything so powerful, any weapon, it can cut both ways. The attribute we name as a virtue may also be our bane. So we watch what we call things, in case we turn out to be right."

"Very Vulcan of you," Elle said quietly.

"It is something we and they understand," Ael said. "We treasure names, most of all. After all, what else is more powerful than your name being called? As long as a Rihannsu has someone to speak their name, to write, or even think it, that person is real. Afterwards..." she shrugged. "The Elements, some say." She looked down at Elle and squeezed her shoulder. "You understand."

Elle thought of the names tucked away in her sock drawer and bowed her head. "Names are important. What that name comes to mean is also important."

"Yes."

Elle detoured to get a snack from one of the synthesizers and lost the captain's next question. By the time she got to the briefing room, Spock and McCoy were there, and teasing the captain about keeping his name off the boarding party.

Elle grinned into her yogurt.

"That better not be ice cream," McCoy said, without turning to look at her as Spock continued running through the names.

"It's yogurt," Elle protested. Frozen yogurt.

"With chocolate sauce?" McCoy said dryly.

"Fudge," Elle said, lifting her chin defiantly.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Really, Elle?"

"What? We're in enemy space, I deserve chocolate."

"And gummy bears?" Kirk asked, smirking as he fished one off the side of her froyo bowl.

Spock wrinkled his nose. "That much sugar, _ax'nav_ -"

"I won't get pimples," Elle said. "It'll all be burned off by today's mission."

Ael laughed.

They all turned to look at her.

She waved a hand, still snickering. "I just," the commander said, hiding her grin. "It hadn't hit me that you had quite so many parents."

"Anyways," Kirk said, drawing attention away from Elle's snack choices with a sly wink, "back to the list."

The department heads filtered in after a few minutes and they started the briefing.

"Sir, before we get into it," said Colin Matlock, Chief Giotto's aux, "what color are the walls in the station?"

"Camouflage," Elle said. "We're gonna need camouflage."

Ael turned a considering look to Matlock. "Silver or light grey," she said.

Kirk nodded. "A good idea, Mr. Matlock. Have the quartermaster issue light grey fatigues to all boarding members."

"Rihannsu should wear them as well," Ael said. "It will give us another second of hesitation on the station's part."

"Good idea."

Almost all of Security and half the remaining crew were gong to storm the Levaeri V station, and everyone else was to stay back and hold the Enterprise, and be ready to go.

"Mr. Scott, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov will be controlling the Enterprise from the Auxiliary bridge. Elle, I want you there as well," Kirk said. "That will be the safest place for you."

Elle nodded. "What are we going to do about the Intrepid?"

"If it's docked it'll have to be a cold restart," Scotty said. "That'll take about fifteen minutes."

Kirk frowned. "In and out estimates forty minutes. If we can't get to Intrepid early enough we'll have to destroy her before we leave."

"The puir ship," Scotty said sadly.

"My tribble clan," Elle protested.

"They'll have to take their chances," Kirk said, attempting not to smile.

Elle saw through his solemnity and scowled into her froyo.

"That's all, then," Kirk said. "After we beam back, we'll get out of here with Bloodwing and Intrepid at warp eight."

"That's all, he says," McCoy echoed, rolling his eyes.

The department heads filed out to their duties. Scotty gestured to Elle. "Come along, lassie, I want another set of hands on these controls," he said.

Elle followed him out and made a note to stop by her quarters and change into normal clothes at some point.


	71. Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable...

Two hours later, it was go-time and Elle still hadn't managed to change into pants. Oh well.

"Control has been transferred," Aidoann said, her voice tinny over the comm.

"Confirm, Aux bridge has control," Scotty said, tapping the display as it went live. He glanced around the small bridge. "Stations sound off."

"Helm, aye," Sulu said.

"Tactical, aye," Chekov said.

"Communications, green," Uhura chimed in.

Khiy copied green as well, and Elle gave Scotty a thumbs-up.

"All right then," Scotty said, and set to pacing around the room.

Elle twirled lazily in her chair as Sulu and Chekov brought the Enterprise Levaeri station as possible.

Scotty went over to the engineering console, hovered over it to look at the transporter readouts. "And that's the last batch over to the station," he said.

Half a second later, alarms all over the ship began to screech. Not whoop, screech. "Intruder alert!" Chekov hollered.

"Screens, man, screens!" Scotty yelled.

Sulu slammed his hands on the panels, bringing up the shields.

"Intruders on decks four, eight, nine, twelve-" Uhura reported.

Scotty swore. "Oop, little pitchers. Start sealing off the bulkheads, everything south of thirty."

"I had a tumblr," Elle grumbled, even as she moved to help Chekov secure the bulkheads throughout the ship.

"Where did they come from?" Sulu asked.

"Bloodwing," Scotty growled.

Khiy went white. "The commander would never!" he protested.

"Not the commander," Scotty replied.

"But we put Tafv in the brig!" Elle said, her heart hammmering.

"Situation report," Scotty ordered.

Uhura had one hand over her earpiece, frowning deeply. "Mostly confused, Mr. Scott. Fighting on eight and twelve. People are asking what's going on."

Scotty huffed. "Tell them - wait, no, Chekov, help Khiy, I want all the doors on this ship locked. Cut power if you have to."

Chekov jumped out of his chair and went over to help. "No good, sir. Several junctions are down."

"Argh. Shut the transporters down. The captain'll be using the Levaeri transporters to come back anyway, and we don't want the intruders botherin' them. If they want the Enterprise, they'll have to fight for every inch." He took a deep breath. "And override the doors, seal Engineering. They'll not have mah engines."

"Engineering hull is secure," Chekov reported.

"And transporters are down," Khiy said, a moment later.

"There's about forty crew tranpped in engineering now," Uhura reported.

"Hm. Call around the rest of the ship and figure out where everyone else is. What's our strength without the landing party?"

"Two hundred nine," Elle said.

Scotty grimaced. "And scattered like fluff to the winds. Ach. Now where would Tafv be headed?"

"Here, sir," Sulu said. "And without the Jefferies tubes or intruder control he'll have to fight his way through bulkheads and walls to get here."

"If he's coming here shouldn't we go to the real bridge and transfer control?" Elle asked.

Scotty gave her a quick grin. "Took the words right out of my mouth. Pull up a crawlspace schematic between here and the bridge. Uhura, while we're at it, rig up the boards for voiceprint authorization only. If it blows when nonauthorized persons try to use them, the better."

"Don't ask much, do you?" Uhura asked drily, but a second later her fingers were flying across her console.

"What about our friendly Rihannsu?" Elle asked. "Aidoann and the others?"

"Aidoann and Khiy, and Nniol, filed voiceprints with me," Uhura said distractedly.

"I can't believe they managed to get one over on us," Scotty grumbled. "And even knowing about Tafv..." He shook his head. "Well. Sulu, Chekov, finish that up, you two are going for a little walk."

"Armory's next door," Sulu murmured, getting a shadow of a grin on his face.

"Aye," Scotty said. "If Tafv's people are fighting their way here, what a shock to get here and find it empty, and full control transferred to the main bridge. So you two had best slip over to the armory and take everything you think you'll need, and a little extra for boobytrapping whatever corridors you come across. No use letting Tafv have it, and Uhura, Khiy, and I will need the rest of it."

Elle opened her mouth. "What about me?"

"You're going with Sulu and Chekov," Scotty said, and everyone turned to gape at him. "Well she certainly can't stay here," he said, giving the other senior officers a significant look. "And out of all of us, Elle's the only one who's memorized the crawlspaces."

"True," Sulu said. "Elle, come help us."

Scotty and Uhura strategized with Nurse Chapel about distinguishing humans from Romulans, and Elle got the privilege of entering the armory for the first time. "Chief Giotto's gonna be so mad he missed this," Elle said.

Sulu huffed a laugh. "Giotto's got his own problems."

They carried armful after armful of phasers, grenades, rifles, and sundry other weapons across to the armory.

"You know how to rig sonic grenades for a delayed explosion?" Scotty asked, as she and Sulu stacked the last of them.

"No?" Elle said.

"Pay attention then, lass."

They rigged a handful of them and Elle got the dubious honor of carrying them in a kit bag like a really demented, explosive purse. Besides that, Sulu gave her a belt full of phasers, more stun-grenades linked together like fairy lights, and an actual high-pressure water gun that would definitely take an eye out.

"I hate the fact that we're arming a fourteen-year-old," Uhura said grimly.

"Aye, lass."

"I won't shoot myself in the foot," Elle promised. "I got certified and everything."

"That's even worse," Uhura said, and gave her a hug, avoiding the stun grenades.

"All right," Scotty said, surveying them with a grim look. "Take the fastest and safest way to the bridge. Pick up as much help as you can on the way, there's pockets of people all over the ship, and you've got the advantage of knowing the ground."

"Six decks up," Elle said, and scowled down at her wrap dress which would in no way protect her from crawling along metal plating. "We can do this."

"Let me go with them," Khiy blurted, staring at Scott with a desparate expression on his face. "I'm not much good to you here, but I can help out there. And it's my honor that's been debased, we swore to be like brothers and sisters to you, and Tafv betrayed that - I can't let him leave the Commander here to die. Please."

"Go on then," Scotty said, after a long moment. "Uhura and I will hold this position till you four reach the bridge. Don't use the comms, they've probably hacked 'em."

Elle bit her lip. "But Scotty, what are you gonna do when we get back to the bridge and the bulkheads come up?"

Scotty gave her a look. "Don't you worry, my dear. We'll think of something. Now, go on. Don't do anything stupid." He waved them through the clear corridor. "And if you do - sell yourselves dearly."

Sulu gave a single nod, and the door closed, leaving the four of them in an empty corridor. "Come on." He gave Chekov a boost into the tween-decks crawlspace, and lifted Elle up to catch Chekov's hands.

Chekov pulled her into the crawlspace, and Sulu and Khiy jumped up after them. "Left," Chekov said, and they started crawling.


	72. Why is the Enterprise So Big

They crawled for a good stretch and came to a ladder. "Up," Chekov said.

Elle took the brief opportunity to stretch her neck and back. Her knees already had little indents from the grille plating on the crawlspaces. "As soon as we find another group of people I'm gonna need to find me some pants," she grumbled quietly, as they reached a closed bulkhead and had to go back to crawling. "I hate dresses. Hate 'em. I'm never wearing a dress ever again. Whoever decided that four out of the five uniforms for females should be shot. Several times. With a BB gun. In the face. And then set on fire. This dress should be set on fire. Why do Romulans need to do things like stage takeovers? Don't they have any sense of greater good?"

Sulu choked back a snort. "As entertaining as this is, you need to be quiet," he said.

"Sorry," Elle said. "I really hate this."

"I know, I'm sorry." He patted her ankle. "Keep going."

-/\\-

"It's blocked," Chekov said. "Bulkheads come down through this section."

"Any way around?" Sulu asked.

"Uhhhh..."

"If we drop down to the deck and go one section over sideways we can pick it up again," Elle said, unscrunching her face to clear her visual map.

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's the only way to get past the nurses' break room," Elle said.

"Why were you sneaking past the nurses' break room?" Chekov asked.

Elle shuffled along, cheeks turning red. "I was hiding from my booster shots."

Sulu cackled silently. "You, Miss Yearly Physical Minion, were hiding from medical attention?"

Elle pouted into the deck plating as they navigated around a corner. "Do you know how many vaccines I had to catch up on? When I turn 15 I'm gonna have to get like another twelve, even."

"Poor Elle," Chekov said. He got to the end of the crawlspace and levered the grille up. He stuck his head down, checked. "Clear," he whispered, and dropped down. "Come on, Elle."

She dropped down and landed in a crouch that was marginally impressive. She got out of the way as Sulu and Khiy dropped down next.

"Which way?" Sulu asked.

Elle pointed and let Sulu take the lead. See? She could follow security protocols.

They crept silently through the corridors. There was no one, either friend or foe, in this section. A concussion blast rumbled under their feet. "Sounds like they're trying to blow a bulkhead," Chekov whispered, and Khiy cringed.

They came to the next junction and paused. "It's to the right," Elle whispered, hovering on Sulu's left as they swept the junction.

All clear. They moved to the right, Khiy and Chekov taking point. They turned the corner, and came face to face with a group of rogue Romulans trying to carve open the bulkhead. One of them was Tafv.

Khiy and Sulu fired their phasers at the same time as Tafv and another Romulan fired their disruptors, and Chekov yanked Elle back behind the corner a fraction of a second too late. One of the disruptor beams grazed Chekov's arm and he said something in Russian which the translator in Elle's arm flatly refused to render.

Elle, on instinct, lobbed a sonic grenade over Sulu's head and down the corridor. It blew successfully, but the Romulans had scattered to defensive positions and only two of them were caught by the blast. "Chekov are you okay?" she demanded, cringing as disruptor fire went over Khiy's head and scored a mark in the wall.

"I'm fine, it's just a graze," Chekov hissed between gritted teeth, and leaned forward to fire off another shot.

"Pavel, where's the crawlspace we need?" Sulu asked, ducking back towards them.

"Over Tafv's head," Chekov groaned.

Sulu scowled. "Any other options?"

"Turbolift?" Khiy asked.

"They went down with intruder alerts," Sulu said. "We can get to a lift tube but we'll be fish in a barrel, too easy to pick off."

Elle closed her eyes, trying to visualize the routes in her head. "There's another one that'll get us there," she said. "It's more twisty but it'll come out on the right decks."

"Where?" Sulu asked.

Elle pointed down the hallway they were in. "Down there, in one of the maintenance supply storerooms." Which meant crossing the hallway the shooty traitorous Romulans were in.

"Okay," Sulu said grimly. "Khiy, you and I will lay down covering fire. Chekov, you go first, cover from the other side. Elle, you and Khiy will run across next, I'll come last. Elle, take your phaser out, ready to stun. Ready? Go."

Chekov sprinted across as Sulu and Khiy lay down continuous streams of phaser fire, and as soon as he was across, Sulu said, "Go!"

Khiy and Elle sprinted across the corridor - _Great Bird why are the Enterprise corridors so wide oh man there are ROMULANS SHOOTING AT ME_ \- and made it across. Sulu sprinted across after them and they booked it for the crawlspace opening at the end of the corridor. Did Elle mention, these coridors are _VERY LONG_?!

There was shouting in Rihannsu, which translated to, "Get their weapons!" and the Romulans were chasing them.

Elle threw another grenade, but it went too far and blew the corridor behind the Romulans. One of them did get caught and fell into the wall at high speed. Khiy and Chekov were shooting steadily, using the wide-beam setting even though it was going to fry all the electronics in the walls as well as stun the Romulans. Oh well. Maintenance had job security.

Sulu grabbed Elle by the back of her dress and hauled her along. "As soon as we get there I'm gonna open it and toss you up there, okay?" he said. "And you _go_ , you hear me? Don't wait, just _go_."

Elle nodded, her heart hammering in her ears. Almost there, almost there...

They reached the storeroom, barrelled in, and sealed the door with phaser fire behind them. "That won't hold long," Chekov warned. "Disruptors will come through the door."

Sulu hauled open the crawlway access. "Okay, Elle, here we go."

Just as he was boosting her up, a beam of disruptor fire came through the door, carving it open like a lightsaber. The beam came straight across the room, almost skewering Khiy. It caught the edge of Elle's dress and she shrieked as it caught fire.

Sulu, with superhuman reflexes, yanked her away and up. "Go go go!" he yelled, practically throwing her at the crawlway.

Elle managed to grab it. The melted edge of her skirt caught on the grate and she got stuck. She yanked the dress off and skidded forward, barely clearing enough space for Chekov, then Sulu, then Khiy.

"Grenade!" Khiy said.

Chekov plucked one off his belt and handed it over. Khiy tossed it in the storeroom and slammed the access hatch closed.

The explosion rattled them like coins in a piggy bank and Elle caught herself on the floor- with her chin. She picked herself up, wiped her bloody chin with her wrist, and wiped that off on her swimsuit top. Ew.

"Everybody okay? Go go go," Sulu urged.

Elle scuttled forward on hands and knees, the adrenaline still high. "They're not gonna follow us, right?" she asked.

"No," Sulu said. "We're small fry, and we're going in the wrong direction. They want control of the ship. But we need to hurry."

Elle picked up the pace. "We are literally saving the world, and I'm in a swimsuit," she said, after a long silence filled only with the clanking of phasers against the metal plating.

Sulu laughed. "Must be Tuesday," he agreed.

 _At least I'm wearing shorts_ , Elle comforted herself. _Note to self. Never, ever, decide to wear a bikini. The Borg would probably decide to invade eighty years early._ That mental note brought forward the associated image of Borg in bikinis, and Elle huffed a silent laugh of half-humor, half-horror. A drop of blood from her chin plinked onto the deck plating below. _Ew_. "Maybe I'll get a cool scar like Harrison Ford," she said aloud, and startled a laugh out of Chekov.

"Dr. McCoy will not let you keep it," Chekov said. "And you've already got a scar, anyway."

"Yeah but nobody can see it, it's on my stomach," Elle said.

"How did you get it?" Khiy asked.

"I recognized an assassin and he tried to kill me," Elle replied, shuffling forward.

Khiy stopped and then started forward again. "You're kidding."

"Nope. But that was a year and a half ago."

"Humans," Khiy muttered under his breath. "Crazy, all of you."

Elle grinned.

They lapsed into silence as they crawled, trying to conserve their energy. The adrenaline had faded from the encounter with Tafv's group and Elle just hurt all over. Her knees were scraped in all directions, and her palms hurt. And her chin hurt. And she was hungry. And cold, in spite of sweating from all the crawling and the climbing through the ship's infrastructure.

It was hard not to think about what was going on in other parts of the ship. Was everyone okay? Was sickbay still under lockdown? Had they broken through to Engineering? What if they'd gotten to Scotty and Uhura? No, that wouldn't happen, Scotty would've blown the Enterprise. What about Levaeri? Was the captain okay? What about the Intrepid? And the giant brain? And Ael?

"Breathe, Elle," Sulu said softly.

She took a deep breath and forced down the rising panic in her brain. _Cast out fear_ , she told herself. _What is, is. It's gonna work out._ She took another steadying breath. This was a book. What happened next?

"Let's take a breather," Sulu said.

Elle immediately twisted around to sit on her bottom and leaned against the wall of the crawlspace.

"Pavel, how's the arm?" Sulu asked.

Chekov replied in Russian. He was fine.

"Khiy?"

"I'm well, lieutenant."

"Elle?"

Elle gave Sulu a thumbs-up. "I want a cheeseburger and fries, but I'm good." She poked at the cut in her chin absently.

Sulu huffed a laugh. "Once this is over that sounds good," he said. "I've lost count. Where even are we?"

"Between three and four," Elle said, closing her eyes. "That way's Requisitions, that way's Rec Deck." Her eyes snapped open. "We need to go to the Rec Deck, there'll be lots of people there, we can get help." She grinned. "And we can use the transporters."

"Transporters?" Sulu asked.

"Trust me," Elle said in reply, giving Sulu a look.

He nodded. "Rec Deck it is then. Which way?"

Elle pointed. "This way."

They got down the last length of crawlspace and Elle almost fell onto the hatch. "I can't get it open," she said, tugging at the handles.

Sulu wedged in next to her to try and open it, but it was stuck. "Never mind, just blast it."

Elle grinned and shot the hatch. It blew open, and immediately phaser fire lanced up from the deck below and pinged around the inside of the crawlspace. "Don't shoot, don't shoot!" she shrieked, dropping to the floor with her hands over her head to cover from the phaser burns. "It's me, it's Elle!"

"Come out, slowly," Lt. Harb Tanzer's voice warned, and there was no trace of humor at all.

Elle poked her head slowly out of the crawlway and found Harb at the front of forty or fifty people. He was the only one with a phaser, and it was set to kill. "Hi," she said.

Harb melted in relief. "Oh, Great Bird, I almost shot you," he said, tossing the phaser to someone else. "Who's with you?"

"Me, Sulu, Chekov, and Khiy," Elle said.

"Well, come down from there," Harb said. The Rec Deck was twice the height of other decks, to allow freedom for games and movie screens. "Let's drag this table over, you two get on the table, and Elle you can jump."

She jumped, and one of the Sulamid ensigns caught her in a grip of squishy, shock-absorbent psuedopods. They both fell to the deck.

Harb picked Elle up off the ground and guided her to the nearest chair. "Amy, go get the first aid kit from my office," he said, scowling at the variety of Elle's cuts and bruises. "Where are your clothes?" he asked, ignoring Sulu, Chekov, and Khiy dropping from the vent.

Elle scowled. "My dress got dissolved by a disruptor beam and then got stuck on the grate."

"Goodness," Harb said. "Someone get these people some coffee."

One of the nurses from Delta shift took over the first aid kit and tended to Chekov's arm, and one of the engineers treated Elle's scrapes and bruises. Someone else, Lt. Martine, queen amongst crewmembers, got Elle a pair of pants and a sweater from the materials synthesizer.

Elle chugged down a cup of coffee and a sandwich as Sulu explained the situation to the crew. "Elle said there were transporters available?" he finished.

Harb frowned. "We don't have any transp..." His gaze cleared. "Yes we do! The 4D chess cubes each have a mini-transporter to hold the pieces in time out."

"That'll never carry a person," Chekov said.

Elle tossed Harb a grenade from her harness. "It'll carry these, though. All hail the cubes."

"What's their range?" Sulu asked.

"Let's find out."

The crew swarmed to work. Elle sat back and ate another sandwich.

-/\\-

It was only a matter of minutes before they were ready. Elle stood with Lt. Martine, the older woman's arms around Elle's shoulders protectively, as Harb cleared his throat. "One word before we start," Lt. Tanzer said, looking sorrowful. "Don't get to liking this too much. Any other way of freeing this ship would be prefereable-and should we find ourselves able within the scope of our oaths to allow our enemies mercy, I will expect it of you. Otherwise, protect this ship and your shipmates, and our guests." His eyes flickered to the Rihannsu standing with them, amongst them, everyone wearing the same expression of rather frightened resolve.

"Good," Harb said. "We'll take care of the deck seven groups first, give Scotty and Uhura some breathing room, and anything else this transporter will reach."

"Coordinates are in, we're ready," said the lt. in charge of the 4D chess cube's transporter controls.

"Here, then," Harb said. He pulled the pin on the grenade and laid it down on the game cube. It sparkled, dematerialized, and it was gone.

Underneath Elle's feet, the deck shuddered for just an instant.

"Don't give them time to react," Harb said grimly. "Second group."

"Ready-"

"Now."

It took them twenty minutes to clear the primary hull of Romulan invaders. There were some groups out of reach of the game cube's transproters, but they weren't in critical sections of the ship. The last sonic grenade they beamed directly outside the Rec Deck's sealed bulkhead, to clear the hallway from the group of Romulans there.

The room shuddered, things bounced off tables and broke, and Elle grabbed onto Lt. Martine and Chekov and between the three of them they managed to stay upright.

"That's done it," Harb said, deadly quiet. "Let's go."

Those with phasers stepped forward to open the main doors, clear the bulkhead, and sweep the hallway. Martine grabbed Elle's head and pressed it into her shoulder, blocking Elle from the view of the corridor. "You don't need to see that, _cherie_ ," Martine said gently, and Elle gripped the lieutenant's uniform tightly. She wanted to cry, but it wasn't over, and they still had to get everyone back from Levaeri. It wasn't over yet.

The crew came back. "We'll separate," Harb said. "Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov, take a group with you to the bridge. About twenty of you, come with me and we'll go to Aux and see about the lifts. Ten of you to the main transporters on six, ten of you to sickbay. The rest of you head out and see about the groups we didn't reach. Go."

Elle followed Lt. Martine, ready to go to sickbay.

Harb grabbed her arm gently. "Not you, Elle."

"I have medic training," Elle protested.

He shook his head. "I don't want you to leave this room." Unsaid, she heard his words anyways. _I don't want you to see the corridors of your home filled with the signs of a battle._

Elle forced down a sudden wave of fear. "Okay."

"Okay." He kissed her forehead. "You stay here with-"

One of the Rihannsu stepped forward tentatively. "I'm a technician, I'll stay with her, sir. Better use for me than combat."

"Okay. You stay here with Hvaid, and Moira, hold down the fort. We'll send people your way, and you guys are in charge of feeding 'em." Harb gave her a gentle smile, gave Hvaid a look that clearly meant ' _keep Elle safe or I'll space you myself_ ', and the adults were gone.

Elle looked at Hvaid, who was skinny, if Romulans were allowed to be skinny, and would have worn glasses, if Romulans didn't also have corrective-eye surgery. "Hi," she said. "I'm Elle."

"I know," he said. "I'm Hvaid."

The two of them stood there for a moment, taking in the empty Rec Deck, the largest room on the ship, cavernous now it was empty instead of teeming with life and crew and good times. Elle forced back a shiver. "Moira?" she asked.

"Yes, Elle?" said the games computer.

"How do you set up a buffet?"


	73. Commendations and Revelations

It wasn't even five minutes after Harb and the others left that the Red Alert began to whoop.

"What _now_?" Hvaid asked, almost dropping the plates of sandwiches.

Elle ran over to the nearest console and pulled it up. The blood drained from her face. "Oh no." She'd forgotten about this part. "Three Romulan ships have just arrived." Captain Kirk and the others would have to make their way to Intrepid somehow; there was no way the Enterprise could drop their shields. "Better secure everything and brace for impact," she warned Hvaid, just as the first shots hit.

The battle was more like a strategic retreat - the Enterprise hovered just long enough for Intrepid to start, and Bloodwing faithfully on their heels, the three ships leapt in the direction of Federation space, the Romulans hot in pursuit.

To distract herself, Elle looked around the Rec Room, cataloguing things that had fallen, things that needed to be replaced. Her eyes caught on a tan pile of shards and she went over. "Aww." She knelt down and began to pick up the pieces of her two clay pots, both the Ugly One and the New One. "They broke." She stacked the shards up carefully into a container.

"You can fix them," Hvaid said. "With shimmer glue."

"Shimmer glue?" Elle asked.

"Adhesive with microfine gold powder," Hvaid said. "When something breaks, you use that glue to put it back together."

"Then won't everybody see the cracks?" Elle asked.

"That's the point."

"Oh." Elle contemplated this. "I guess. Moira-" She paused. Moira went offline during red alert to conserve power. So did non-essential synthesizers, like the craft ones. "Well, when this is over, I'll find some. It'll make 'em look cool, anyway." She pulled a lump of wet clay out from its stasis unit and pressed it under her fingers. "What's a _bloodwing_ , anyway?" she asked, to distract herself from the fact that they were in danger of being killed any second. "Some kind of bird?"

"A bird, yes," Hvaid said, sitting across from her and accepting a small lump of clay. He rolled the earth in his fingers, examining it. "It's the sigil-beast of the Commander's House, a big, ugly scavenger. But once it's in the air, flying, nothing can match it."

Elle nodded slowly. "Like a vulture?"

"I would not know," Hvaid said.

Elle decided to make one out of clay. She steadily ignored the flashing of the red alert and focused on the lump of clay in her hands, on the low volume of the intership comm as it relayed what was happening on the bridge, on the Intrepid, on Bloodwing. She braced herself and her tools as the Enterprise swooped towards the nearest star.

Hvaid cringed. "What are we doing?" he asked.

"Probably starting an ion storm," Elle said, as Intrepid joined them on the dive so close to the star that the windows blacked out before anyone could melt. "To trap the ones chasing us."

"Federation-ers are crazy," Hvaid grumbled under his breath.

Elle laughed. "Yeah." There were some quiet cheers over the comm as the maneuver worked, and they blasted away from the ion storm, barely missing the leading wavefront. Elle's stomach rolled as inertial dampeners strained to compensate. "Ugh, I hate ion storms." She pinched out a neck for her bloodwing statue.

"You have more calm than seasoned centurions," Hvaid said, admiringly.

"Thanks. I just know everything's gonna be okay." Elle held up the chunky blob of clay. "How's it look?"

"Longer wings," Hvaid said. "And a larger underbody."

"Copy that."

The ship's internal gravity swooped again and Elle glanced out the window. Intrepid was flying lose, _really_ close, Bloodwing nestled between them. "Huh. Merged warp fields." She snorted. "Scotty's going to have a fit once this is over."

"We aren't going to make it to the Neutral Zone," Hvaid said, pulling up course calculations.

"We will," Elle said. "There's only Battlequeen after us."

"Three ships in two warp fields," Hvaid said. "One lucky shot and Battlequeen will destroy us all."

"He won't," Elle said again, trusting in Captain Kirk's penchant for amazing tactics. "Something'll happen."

"And if it doesn't?" Hvaid asked.

Elle looked down at the lumpy blob of clay. "Then I hope we die in a blaze of glory," Elle said. "No offense, but I don't want to end up a prisoner."

"None taken," Hvaid assured her. "Neither do I." He gave her a grin. "The Commander was right, when she said we could trust those of the Enterprise to act honorably. It was an honor to serve with you."

"And you," Elle said, wondering if she was going to die here, in an empty Rec Deck with clay in her hands, with a friend who should've been an enemy. "What does your religion say about dying in battle?"

"That it's an honorable death," he said. "We'll see each other again in the Elements."

"Good to know," Elle said, giving him a smile.

The ship shuddered, and shuddered again- and Elle gaped as Constellation and Ineau came blazing towards them, decelerating from warp in a screaming burst of light and radiation, hammering at Battlequeen with phasers. "Yes!" Elle crowed, jumping up from her seat. "Yes, yes, yes!" She grabbed Hvaid in a hug, and he hugged her back, and they got clay all over the back of their shirts, but it was worth it.

"You were right," Hvaid said, beaming at her. "How did you know?"

"You know your commander, I know my captain," Elle said, fairly bursting with pride. She did a little victory dance to top it off as the Federation ships and Bloodwing make it safely out of Romulan space and into Federation space. "Woo!"

Hvaid laughed at her, but he did give her a high-five when she explained the gesture to him.

-/\\-

Elle ended up trapped in the Rec Deck as _someone_ (thanks, captain) had come back, seen the state of his ship and promptly freaked out, refusing to allow Elle to leave the safety of the Rec Deck until the worst of the damage (the bodies) were cleared away. Point being, over the next few hours she managed to finish her little statue of a bloodwing, set it to bake, have another sandwich, and take a nap in one of the empty alcoves.

The sensation of being watched startled her awake. "Whuh-?" Elle sat up sharply, flailed, and caught herself on the edge of the beanbag. "Bones!" She stood up and threw her arms around him in a hug.

He kissed her temple and hugged her tightly. "You're okay?" he said.

"I'm okay," Elle assured him. "Are you?"

"Tired as I can ever remember being, but I'm fine," McCoy said, drawing back to examine her. "Corridors are mostly cleared, you can go back to your quarters now."

"Cool."

He was a mother-hen; he walked her to her quarters, just in case. Elle saw nothing terrible, a few scorch marks on the walls, a few lines scored clean through where people were using phasers or disruptors set to vaporize, but her quarters were just fine and Simba was purring away in his environment.

"My tribble clan!" Elle realized, paling. "The Intrepid!"

McCoy huffed something that sounded like a laugh. "I'll comm Sehlik, ask him about the tribles," he said. "I want you to sleep six hours, minimum, you hear me?"

Elle set her alarm for six hours. "Yes, sir." She hugged him again, took her shoes off, and collapsed into her bed.

-/\\-

When she woke it was a natural progression, not a reaction to an alarm. Elle listened for it, wondering if she'd somehow woken up at exactly five hours, fifty-nine minutes. Nothing. She almost drifted off to sleep again, waiting for her alarm to go off, and then she rolled over and saw the time.

"What!" She sat upright, ignored the dehydration headache that burst to life, and glared at the chrono. It read 0737. She'd been asleep for _twelve hours_. No wonder she was groggy. Elle struggled to get out of her mess of blankets and tripped over her boots. "Ow."

She arrived in the mess hall twenty minutes later, showered, dressed, and hungry enough to eat a small horse. She found McCoy in the mess hall, talking to Lia and one of the Rihannsu doctors. Elle made a beeline for them with her tea and oatmeal. " _Bones_."

"Good mornin', darlin'," McCoy said, in his best Southern charm. Oh, it was _definitely_ him. "Sleep well?" His blue eyes twinkled merrily.

"You turned off my alarm!" Elle said.

"It was going on night-cycle, you needed the sleep," McCoy said. "Teenagers need sleep. Teenagers who'd just fought off a home invasion and survived an infiltration into enemy space, doubly so. One might even say, triply so."

Elle gave him her best Captainly Stink-Eye. "You've been hanging out with the Vulcans too much," she muttered darkly into her oatmeal.

McCoy and Lia just sniggered at her.

Elle ate her oatmeal and listened to the doctors talk about 'Regenerative neurons' something or other. When they got to a good pausing point, she piped up. "Hey, Bones? Did you ask about the tribbles?"

McCoy rolled his eyes and gave her a fond smile. "Yes, I did. S'task got back to me and reported that the tribbles were considered non-essential and were basically left alone. None of them died, and none of them breeded."

Elle's sigh of relief blew her napkin away. She scrambled after it with a grin. "Nice."

She finished eating and went to find the captain. He was talking to Scotty, who was very calmly not-angrily-at-all-no-sir explaining what exactly happened to mah-puir-undeservin-bairns during the whole incident and how long it would take to repair them multiplied-by-four. Elle leaned on the nearest blank console and grinned.

"And you," Scotty said, turning to her.

Elle got her elbows off the console.

"Well done," Scotty finished, and gave her a hug. "You are a trooper, fine as any officer, lass. Oh, and your wee robot is gettin' a commendation."

Elle blinked. "My shuffle-bot?"

"No, the maintenance droid. Commander Stabby."

Elle grinned. "Why are you giving Commander Stabby a commmendation? What'd he do?"

"It recognized there was an intruder alert, ordered Lt. Chanax in Requisitions to give it a real knife, and chased down two Romulans trying to get into one of the armories," Scotty said, beaming.

She burst into laughter. "You're kidding!"

"I am not," Scotty said. "I didn't know you'd given it defense protocols, lass."

"I didn't," Elle said, and they eyed each other. "I gave it a learning protocol."

"Intelligent little thing," Scotty said, and shook his head.

Kirk held up a hand. "I'm sorry, you're saying that your maintenance droid is scooting around with an actual knife strapped on it?" he asked, disbelief choking his tone.

"I mean I can take it off," Elle said. "Sir."

Kirk's disbelief twisted into a sly smile. "Let's leave it," he said. "If you're not aware enough of your surroundings to notice a bright orange droid, you deserve to get shanked by a vacuum."

Scotty choked on a laugh. "Aye, sir," he said. "I'll put the word out. Elle, if you wouldn't mind, Maintenance is lookin' for all spare hands to help out."

Elle nodded. "Cool."

"I'll walk with you," Kirk said. "Thank you, Scotty." He offered Elle his arm and they left engineering. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm okay," Elle said.

Kirk gave her a look. "You got shot at. You defended this ship against intruders."

"I know." Elle bit her lip, contemplated the floor for a moment. "I don't feel weird about it. I probably should, but it hasn't hit me yet."

"When it does, talk to someone," Kirk ordered gently. "Bones, or one of the nurses, Spock, me. Somebody."

"I will." Elle leaned into his shoulder. "When are we parting ways with Bloodwing?"

"They're only staying long enough to do repairs, so sometime tomorrow, if you want to say goodbye."

Elle nodded. "What're they gonna do?"

"Become space pirates," Kirk said, poker-faced.

"Are not!" Elle protested, outraged.

"Are too," he teased, and they shoved each other playfully. He sobered. "No, they're going to the outreaches, somewhere the Empire won't think to look for them, until they're needed again."

"The Romulans are going to be too busy trying to cover their own behinds than to look for Commander Ael," Elle predicted.

Kirk glanced down at her with a curious smile. "You know something, Elle?" he asked.

She grinned. "I know a lot of things. I know she's my favorite Rihannsu empress."

"Fine, keep your secrets," he sniffed disdainfully, worthy of a Shakespearian actor. "And Captain Suvuk, before they left for Starbase to drop off all the data, said to give you his regards, and acknowledges that the Intrepid is now doubly in your debt, should you ever need more logical assistance than you will find on the Enterprise."

Elle laughed so hard she started to hiccup. "Awesome."

He left her in the Maintenance department with a wave and a smile. Elle donned a coverall and was immmediately put to work with a team rebuilding various pieces of equipment that had shattered during the last few days.

By the time she emerged from the depths of Maintenance, it was time for dinner and then bed again. Most of the Rihannsu had cleared out by now, slowly returning to Bloodwing in preparation for departure.

Elle said bye to Khiy, gave him a hug. She found Hvaid talking to Lt. Freeman about holograms, and gave Hvaid a hug, too. "It was fun," she said. "See you around the galaxy."

"If the Elements wish it so," he replied, and they bowed to each other. "Did you ever finish the little sculpture?"

Elle bit her lip. "Yeah, I did. You think..."

Hvaid gave her a small smile. "I think so."

Elle nodded firmly. "Thank you." She waved goodbye, and went to the ceramics cupboard with her name on it. The little bloodwing sculpture sat, perfectly preserved, ready to be painted. She spent the next thirty minutes painting it black and red, giving it silver highlights on the tops of the wings and the head, and pronounced it done. "Not super good, but good enough. Moira, where's Commander Ael?"

"On the Observation Deck," Moira replied.

"Thanks." Elle gingerly picked up the statue and headed for the Observation Deck. The best spot in the house to stare at the stars, and at Ineau and Bloodwing, hanging off the bow of the Enterprise.

Ael was there, sitting on a bench, chin resting on a closed fist. "Elle," she said, smiling.

"Commander. I'm glad you're back safe."

"I am, too," Ael said, eyes twinkling. "And I hear you had a hand in repelling the intruders on your ship."

"Kinda," Elle said, shrugging. She sat next to Ael and pulled her feet under her. "Are you guys gonna be okay?"

"We will be well," Ael said. "Those of us on Bloodwing who are left are loyal to me, to our honor, fragile as it is, and to the honor of the empire. We shall be well."

Elle looked down at her cupped hands that still held the statue. "I'm sorry about Tafv."

Ael's mouth twisted in a frown. "I cannot fault him for it," she said. "He was following his own call to mnhei'sahe, just as I was. But his betrayal... it is very hard to lose a child."

Elle thought of her own parents, and didn't cry. "I, made you this," she said, and held out the little sculpture, which now seemed stupid and crude in the light of the stars. Her ears burned, but she couldn't take it back.

Ael reached out to take it. "A bloodwing," she said, mouth curving in a smile. "Made out of earth."

"To keep you grounded," Elle said. "When you're out in space."

Ael reached over and hugged her. "Thank you, child." She cupped Elle's face in her small, strong hands. "You have been such a friend to us, one might almost say you were never an enemy." She met Elle's gaze. "You're a seer, aren't you?"

Elle froze. "Commander?"

"You see the future." Ael released her, let her stare. "I knew, as soon as my sister's-daughter told me about her conversation with you. No child, let alone one scared and under threat, would look up the things you did without knowing them beforehand. I knew when you attended the first briefing I had with your captain. You weren't surprised to hear of the plot to make Vulcan mind control. And I knew when you knew about Tafv. I was his mother, his commander, and I didn't even know. No matter how good you are, you couldn't have known."

Elle cast her eyes down, stayed silent, nervous.

"You don't have to confirm it," Ael said gently, firmly.

"It's not like that," Elle said, and cursed herself for opening her mouth. "I only know some things."

"Like you knew to trust me," Ael said.

"Yes."

"What's our future, do you know? The future of my crew?"

Elle shifted uneasily on the bench. "I know," she said slowly, "that you and your crew will always do what is best for Romulus, I mean, ch'Rihan, and for your people. You won't fail in doing so."

Ael smiled. "Thank you." She stood, the bloodwing sculpture carefully held in her hands. "And thank you for this. I will treasure it. Until we meet again, young one." She placed her hand on Elle's hair in silent benediction, and walked away.

Elle sat there, and breathed, and watched as Bloodwing angled away, into the Neutral Zone, into the depths of space.


	74. Web of Deceit and Glitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've been struggling with insomnia for three weeks and forgot I was a human, let alone a human with a posting schedule. I finally slept well and my brain came back, funny how that works. Hopefully I can sleep again but I will be continuing posting approx once a day. Okay, on with the chapter!

They patrolled the Neutral Zone for another two weeks, but the Romulans, according to the intelligence community, were in no shape to be doing any shenanigans.

"I don't think the word shenanigans can actually go in the report," Kirk said, laughing over Elle's shoulder as she typed up the mission report.

"Then do your own paperwork, captain," Elle teased him.

"This is good practice for writing reports," Kirk said. "Once you turn sixteen you'll be required to start logging your own reports on missions as a consultant."

Elle gaped. "Really? I'm gonna have to start doing _paperwork_?"

"Unfortunately." He handed her a cup of hot cocoa. "Here. One more paragraph and we'll call it good."

"Yes, sir."

The comm whistled. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here. What is it?"

"Sir, we've received new orders from Command," Spock said. "We are ordered to investigate the last known coordinates of the starship Defiant. It vanished three weeks ago in unsurveyed territory."

"Acknowledged, Mister Spock. Route coordinates to helm and engage."

"Aye, captain."

"Kirk out." He turned to Elle. "Do you recognize this as an episode?"

"The Defiant," Elle mused. "The Defiant... is a tiny ship that Deep Space 9 has. And there's a ship that goes to the 24th century? No, that's Valiant. The Defiant... I know there's something but I'll have to try and think about it."

Kirk patted her on the head. "Well, you've got another three days before we reach those coordinates, so you have some time. Go on, I'll finish reporting on the Romulan shenanigans, or lack thereof."

-/\\-

It came to Elle at 0200 hours, out of the middle of a confusing dream involving laser tag and ghosts. "The Tholian web!" she cried out, startling the tribble curled up next to her. "Computer, set verbal reminder for 0805, words as follow 'remember to tell Captain Kirk about the Tholians'."

"Reminder set," the computer replied.

"Thank you." Elle cuddled Simba and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. It didn't take. She was wide awake now, and it was 0202, and now she was thinking about ghosts and custody battles if Captain Kirk was presumed to be dead.

She slid out of her bed, tucked Simba into its enclosure to sleep without wandering off for some midnight snacks, and went to get herself a midnight snack.

The Rec Deck was quiet this time of night, only a few night owls here and there, some Gamma shift playing games or working out. "You're up late," Lt. Rwande said, "or early."

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep," Elle explained.

"Ah. You can go watch War and Peace with Johnson over there, that movie'll put you to sleep for sure."

Elle smiled. "No thanks. I'm gonna fix something while I'm up."

"Okay. Remember to go to sickbay if you really can't sleep."

Elle gave him a thumbs-up and moved on to the pottery cupboard. She still hadn't gotten around to fixing her two clay pots, and gluing stuff back together sounded soothing enough.

It wasn't. Elle had to reconstruct them first, to make sure she'd gotten all the pieces in the right spot, and then once she started working with the shimmer glue- "Glitter is the Devil," Elle intoned solemnly, as a smear of gold-dusted glue stuck to her forehead. She picked at it with the edge of her nail but it refused to come off. She sighed.

Once she got started, carefully brushing the glue along the edges and holding the pieces together to let them cure, it did become more soothing. Like shining spare parts in engineering, but with more glitter (the glitter was not soothing). At some point Elle finished remaking both pots and letting them dry. She cleaned up the table and took the pots back to her quarters where they could be magnetically adhered to the shelf so they wouldn't fall. She put them on the shelf, washed her hands in vain to get rid of the glue, and fell into bed.

"Remember to tell Captain Kirk about the Tholians," Majel Barret's voice said, startling Elle from her dream about mountains of gold. "Remember to tell Captain Kirk about the Tholians."

Elle groaned. "Computer, cancel verbal reminder."

The computer beeped.

Elle stared up at the ceiling and sighed.

She managed to track down Captain Kirk in the mess hall, grabbing a second cup of coffee. "I got it," Elle said, bouncing up to him. "I know this is an episode, and I remember which one. Mostly."

He stared at her for a long second and then smiled. "I see," he said. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Elle replied automatically. "No really though, I remember it."

"Is it classified?" he asked.

"Not really."

He smiled at her. "Then get some breakfast, make your apologies to your first class, and come up to the bridge so we can get the briefing over with in one fell swoop."

"Yes, sir."

He toasted her with coffee cup, a smile on his lips. "Excellent."

Elle had breakfast, had two whole cups of coffee to deal with her sleepiness (take that, Bones), and made her way up to the bridge. Everyone she passed smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Favorite civilian on the bridge," Uhura announced, as Elle stepped out of the lift onto the bridge, and she winked at Elle.

Kirk swiveled around in his chair to face her and his smile widened. "Excellent," he said again, and gestured her forward to stand in her favorite spot between Spock's console and Chekov's. "You said you knew this was an episode? How does it go?"

Elle leaned her arms on the railing to face them equally, and Sulu smiled at her encouragingly. "Okay," Elle said, "so the Defiant is kinda hanging out, not answering comms, so the captain, Spock, Bones, and Chekov go over there-"

" _WHY_ does your universe insist on sending the top three commanding officers into every single dangerous situation?" Kirk interrupted, flailing his arms in annoyance and nearly losing his coffee cup. He rescued it at the last second and leaned heavily on the armrest of his chair. " _Why_."

"For the drama, sir," Elle replied flatly.

He stifled a grin. "Carry on."

"So anyway, they go over, and, everyone is, um, dead, and the ship starts to disappear, like fade, and so they beam back, but the captain gets stuck on the ship, and it disappears."

"Illogical," Spock said primly.

"I know, but it's a ghost story," Elle said. "So anyway, the Defiant is in, um, what's that thing where there's multiple universes vibrating at different frequences but occupying the same space, and the Defiant is stuck halfway between that."

"Interphase," Spock supplied.

Elle grinned at him. "Yes, that, thank you. And you decide to wait for it to come back to this side, and beam Captain Kirk back then. _But_ , space around the Defiant is wonky, because of the Tholians-"

"The what."

"The Tholians. They've claimed the area of space we're going into."

"First contact," the captain said, pleased at the chance of making friends. "Are they nice?"

Elle waved a hand. "Meh. They let the Enterprise stay around to get you."

"What happens to spacetime?" Chekov prompts.

"Right. So it's destabilized, hence the interphase, and poeple's brains are destabilizing with them, so they start fighting each other. And the Tholians do something to Defiant, so the captain is floating around the ship like a ghost, and everybody thinks you're dead. Again. So they do a funeral, and then they find out you're not dead, so they have to save you, but the Tholians want you out of their space so they start trying to trap you in this energy web, which is what destabilized spacetime in the first place, and you get him back at the very end but not after like, fighting about it for forty minutes, and- _why are you all smiling at me! This is a really scary episode!_ "

Their smiles increased. Kirk beamed at her. "You started sleepwalkin', Elle?"

She scowled. "No?"

"Perhaps she is transmuting into a statue," Spock supplied, with that one specific eyebrow slant that denoted great-fondness-for-the-human-teen.

"What?"

Uhura choked on a laugh. "You've got a little something on your face, honey."

Elle swiped at her face with a sleeve, came back with- _glitter_. "Oh _NO_ ," she said, turning bright red. "Oh _no_." She turned to look at herself in the reflective surface above Spock's console. A smear of gold-glue on her forehead, some in her hair, it was still on her _hands_. She let out a groan of despair and hid her face in her hands as she leaned on the railing. "I cannot believe you, captain," she groaned, as her ears threatened to spontaneously combust.

"I'm sorry," he said, still giggling (yes, the flagship captain giggles). "I would've told you but it was too cute."

"You're such a _dad_ ," Elle groaned, peeling the glue from her forehead and wincing as it caught on her hair.

Everyone laughed at that, and Elle managed to laugh at herself as well.

They shared a laugh and then Kirk shook his head, sobering. "Moving back to the Defiant," he said. "You said the entire crew is dead?"

Her laughter vanished. "Yeah, if they stayed too long in that interphase," she said. "I think we're already too late."

Kirk rubbed a hand over his face. "Well," he said grimly, "we'll have to face that possibility. And face the Tholians."

"Hm," Spock said, after a second. That was his, 'I have a concerning hypothesis' hm.

"Spock?" the captain asked, responding with the appropriate level of concern.

"If the Defiant is indeed caught in the space between two universes, would that not be hazardous to Elle's unstable quantum signature?"

All eyes turn to Elle, horrified. She gaped back at them, the blood draining from her face. "I didn't think about that," she breathed. "It wouldn't, though, would it? Now we know not to expose the ship to the dimensional shift, it won't be a problem. We won't be there long enough to go crazy, or anything else."

Kirk stared at her for a long moment and sat back with a defeated sigh. "And we're too far away to drop you off somewhere. We'll have to be careful."

"Very careful," Spock said. "Perhaps there is a way to create a stabilizating field to keep us in sync with this universe."

"Unless you can come up with one in sixteen hours, we'll have to risk it," Kirk said.

"Sixteen hours, twenty-five minutes," Spock said. "If you'll excuse me, captain?" He headed for the lift, and was gone.

Kirk gave Elle a worried smile. "What do you know about these Tholians, Elle?"

"Nothing much. They're not really mentioned."

Kirk nodded. "Understood." He gestured her forward and tapped gently at her forehead, where there was still glitter. "Don't worry, Elle."

"Yes, sir."

Elle went to take a shower and vaporize every single speck of gold dust she could find. The little clay pots looked nice though. She went on to her classes as usual, trying to ignore the anxious thrumming in the bottom of her chest. _What if something happened and she- left?_

-/\\-

At 0100 hours, a perfectly reasonable hour for things to be happening, the yellow alert came on. The one for 'unidentified contact'.

Elle watched the silent alert blink on her computer console, debating if she wanted to get up. She curled up around her squashy pillow and closed her eyes. It was probably the Tholians. It was fine. Captain Kirk was a seasoned diplomat, and the Tholians were reasonable, right?

She groaned into her pillow. "I don't wanna get up," she said brattily, but it was too late. She rolled out of bed and put on a first-contact appropriate blouse and pants. The auto-focus on ship-to-ship camera was unusually good at focusing on the captain, but sometimes it picked up other people and Elle certainly didn't want a new race of aliens to see her in dinosaur pajamas.

Simba trilled at her as she combed her hair into a ponytail.

"No, you go back to sleep," she soothed. "You know the captain hates tribble hair on the bridge." Simba settled again and she made her way out.

She arrived just as Kirk was ordering, "Hail them, liuetenant."

It was Lt. Coleman, Uhura's relief, a smooth BBC-official accent perfect for night shift. "Hailing," he reported. "Universal translator is coming through."

The viewscreen switched from stars to a vibrant orange figure against a shifting background. "I am Commander Loskene," it said, voice tinny through the vocoder. "You are trespassing in a territorial annex of the Tholian Assembly. You must leave this area immediately."

"Greetings," Kirk said amiably. "I am Captain James T. Kirk, commanding officer of the Enterprise. Commander, according to the Federation, this area is free space."

"We claim this territory and are prepared to use force, if necessary, to protect our property," Loskene replied.

"We are not interested in disputing your claim, commander," Kirk said. "We are answering a distress signal from one of our ships that disappeared in this area three weeks ago. We have reason to believe it is interspacially trapped."

"Our sensors do read a third vessel," Loskene said, after a tense pause. "We will escort you to your ship for rescue efforts."

"Thank you," Kirk said.

"Follow," Loskene said, and the video channel closed abruptly.

Kirk raised an amused eyebrow at Lt. Leslie, the helmsman. "Well, lieutenant, you heard the being."

"Aye, sir," Leslie said, amused, and he put the Enterprise to follow the Tholian ship.

"Captain, we are registering very curious readings from all sensors," Spock said. "According to our instruments, space itself is literally breaking up. There is no known phenomenon which would account for these readings. This may be the beginning of the interphase."

"All stop," Kirk ordered. "Coleman, warn the Tholians about the anomaly and suggest they hold back."

"Aye, sir," came the two replies, and in front of them the Tholian ship wheeled to a stop a moment later.

"Lt. Coleman, anything from the Defiant?" Kirk asked.

"No, sir. I've tried hailing on every frequency, I've got nothing."

Spock twitched an eyebrow in a deep frown. "Scans show no lifesigns aboard the Defiant, captain."

Kirk let out a measured breath. "Acknowledged. Are we within transporter range?"

"No sir."

Kirk clenched his fists. "Coleman, put Commander Loskene back on."

The viescreen shifted away from the Defiant and back onto Loskene. "There are no people on your ship," Loskene said, its high tone coming through with something like sorrow. "We are sorry for your loss of personnel."

"Thank you," the captain said, inclining his head.

"We will escort you out of our borders," Loskene said, and without further ado, the Tholian ship turned about-face.

"Sir, the Defiant has vanished," Spock reported, lifting his head from his telescopic viewer.

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Kirk said heavily. "Take us back to Federation space, Mr. Leslie."

"Aye, captain."

At the border of Tholian and Federation space, the two ships exchanged maps, said polite if disinterested goodbyes, and the Enterprise headed back to its own borders.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Elle said dryly. "Spock and Bones didn't even have a single argument."

Kirk snorted. "For once," he said, and snickered as Spock gave him a fierce glare.


	75. Pontifications on Plato and Picasso

"Elle."

"Mm?"

"Are you asleep?"

Elle moved her arm off her face to squint up at an entirely-too-amused Captain Kirk. "Just dozing," she mumbled.

"In the middle of the rec deck?"

Elle waved a lazy hand. "Good ambiance."

He eyed the wannabe jazz band starting up in the corner of the room. "I see." Something else caught his eye. "I'll let you get on with your nap, then."

"Carry on," she mumbled, putting her arm back over her eyes. She dozed off again to the lovely background chatter of assorted beings and the mournful toot-toot of a trombone.

The simulated basketball game woke her up and she joined in cheering for Ops V. Req.

The next day in Biology class McCoy asked, "So how do you feel?"

Elle blinked at him. "Fine?"

"What'd you do yesterday?"

"Uh, I don't know. Played a game, took a nap, watched Requisitions beat Ops at basketball. Oh, I had Twizzlers, do I have a pimple or something?" She squinted at her reflection in the computer screen, looking for a blemish. Nothing there, though there was a suspicious red spot on her chin.

"Are you lonely?" McCoy asked her.

Elle turned to face him. "No? Why? Do I look sad? That's just my thinking face."

He chuckled. "No, you don't look sad. Jim was just worried you were sleeping on the rec deck."

Elle 'pshaw'ed'. "I'm a teenager, Bones. I like to nap anywhere and everywhere. Like a cat. Or a tribble. You know that."

"Okay." He watched her for a moment longer. "Are you sure you're not upset about anything?"

Elle catalogued her mental and emotional state. "No?"

"You're not lonely? You don't want people your own age?"

"People my age are terrifying," Elle said bluntly. "Literally, terrifying. And every kid you've had on this ship besides me has been, like, possessed by evil energy beings."

"Good point," Bones said, trying not to laugh. "You're not interested in a pen pal or something?"

Elle paused. "I, don't know?" She bit her lip as she contemplated it. A girl her age born in this century? Elle compared to that girl would be like comparing a country mouse to a neurosurgeon... "I don't know," she said again.

The soft smile he gave her made her suspect he knew what she was thinking. "Okay," was all he said, and the lesson moved on.

If Elle noticed a suspicious amount of younger crewpeople trying to befriend her afterwards, she didn't say anything. It was nice to have more allies in The Great Paint War.

-/\\-

"All right, kiddo, what do you think?"

"Seven-dimensional oogies," Elle replied.

Ensign Bacara laughed. "Valid observation," he said. "Anything else?"

She contemplated the piece of abstract art. "Can I go back to learning fencing with Sulu?" she asked.

"No," Bacara said. "Your education has to have at least one art credit."

Elle plopped her head into her hand. "Why does it have to be abstract art?"

"Because it's less stuffy than hundreds of years of portraits and religious iconography," Bacara said.

"I like paintings of the Great Bird," Elle said, just to be contrary.

"Elle, c'mon."

Elle sighed. "Abstract art. Okay." She tilted her head, squinted at the painting. "Whale eating krill in the ocean."

"Why do you get that feeling?"

"Because I watched Finding Nemo last night."

Bacara groaned. " _Elle_."

"What! Art is subjective! Subjectively this is flow acrylic with orange and blue paint and it looks like a whale eating krill because that's what's closest in my brain!"

The ensign grinned at her. "There you go." He switched the painting. "Here. Try and find symbolism in this stuffy portrait, I have to check my labs."

Elle, very maturely, stuck her tongue out at him as he left the room. She turned her attention to the painting. "Well the skull is obviously about mortality," she said. "And the cat means something's sketchy. This is obviously an embezzler."

Commander Samir snorted. "If you'll read the label you'll see it's actually a French courtesan."

Elle blinked. "And that's not an embezzler?"

Samir huffed a laugh. "Are you and the captain reading Les Miserables together?"

"Nope," Elle said, beaming. "I got him to watch the musical with me. We cried the whole three hours."

Samir blinked. "I don't think that's healthy."

Elle shrugged. "Meh."

-/\\-

"I don't like Picasso. He's overrated."

Bacara stared at her, betrayed.

"I like Vulcan space-age impressionists," Elle said. "And that one woman from Earth Renaissance who painted pictures of women cutting off their abusers' heads."

Bacara sighed. "Is this what it's like having siblings?" he asked the universe at large.

Elle shrugged blithely. "I don't know, I'm an only child."

He started to pontificate about cubism.

The Enterprise jerked sharply to the right and then swung around in the other direction. Elle tumbled out of her chair and rolled into Bacara's desk. She braced herself against the bolted-down furniture and grabbed it tight. "What's going on?" she hollered, over the whooping of alerts.

"I don't know!" Bacara replied, barely bracing himself in his seat as the Enterprise did its best imitation of a sideways rocking chair. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt, hauled her into a chair, and tagged the auto-harness.

It clipped around Elle and kept her from falling out again. "Thanks," she gasped, as the ship jolted again. "Is this an ion storm?"

"We're orbiting a planet, it can't be," Bacara said.

Under their feet the deck plates shuddered, and Elle could hear a mournful 'whooooooo' as the inertial dampeners and grav-stabilizers exerted themselves to the max. "There's no space Six Flags, right?"

"I don't know what that is."

"Never mind."

It was another two minutes of rollercoaster motions until the Enterprise stilled. The whine of stabilizers cut off abruptly and the alerts went silent.

"Okay," Elle said. "That was weird." She waited for her stomach to stop rolling. "I think I'm going to go to the bridge. This feels episode-y."

Bacara waved her away. "Go, take your little classical heathen art brain with you."

Elle made a face at him and headed to the bridge. Scotty was there. "Where's everybody?" she asked.

"The medical team and Mr. Spock headed down to the surface of the planet," Scotty said, visibly stressed, "and the leader requested to speak to Captain Kirk. He went down as well, and a few minutes later, this happened. We've been ordered to get out of orbit and wait but our orbit is locked tight and everything but short-range comms is unresponsive."

Elle bit her lip. "This feels familiar. Did the captain say who was on the planet?"

"Apparently they're some students of Greek philosophy. Socrates?"

Elle paled. "Plato? Plato's stepchildren?"

"Aye, lass. Do you know what's going on?"

"We need to get them out of there," Elle said urgently. "Those people are telekinetic and mean. We need to beam them back."

"Transporters are out," Scotty said grimly. "How do we get out of this one, lass? Think quick."

Elle tapped her forehead with her palm. "Think, think, think... it's in their food, whatever gives them the ability. It's a power source. Kirk and Spock ingest it and they break the Platonians hold."

"Lt. Uhura, get the captain on the line," Scotty ordered.

"Kirk here," came his voice. "We're slightly busy at the moment, Enterprise, what is it?"

"The Platonians, captain," Elle said, leaning into the mic. "They get their powers from the power source on the planet, it's in their food."

"The kironide?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, that! Anyone who eats enough will have the ability," Elle said urgently. "All they want from us is entertainment, you have to come ba-" The line went dead. "Captain?"

"Get them back," Scotty said.

Uhura shook her head. "It's dead, just like everything else."

"Oh no."

Scotty patted her arm. "Don't worry, lass, you gave 'em the key, and between the captain and Spock they'll figure it out." He frowned at the planet onscreen. "You'd better get back to class, Elle."

She went, reluctantly.

-/\\-

"Elle to Officers' Mess. Elle to Officers' Mess."

The quiet hail startled her out of her haze of Doctor Who and popcorn. She popped out of her blanket cocoon and tapped the comm. "On my way." She booked it to the Officers' Mess Hall. Was Captain Kirk back?

She entered and found the senior officers milling about the largest table, along with- "Alexander of Platonius, this is Elle Wilcott," Kirk said, waving her over. "Alexander helped us escape the Platonians, and he has asked for asylum from the Federation."

Elle smiled at the little person and shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

"You as well," he said.

"Late supper?" Kirk offered, eyeing the crumbs of popcorn on her shirt with a grin.

Elle brushed off her shirt hastily and returned the grin. "I'm always up for food, captain." She took a seat between Uhura and Sulu at the table and looked across the table at Spock. "How'd it go?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "The kironide was indeed the key to the Platonians' telekinesis," was all he said.

Elle shifted uneasily. _You okay?_ she mouthed at him.

His head tilt indicated they were all fine.

She relaxed and focused on eating her vegetarian lasagna as the others talked about the Platonian culture.

"It is fascinating to see what unlimited power and philosophical stagnation do to a culture," Spock said. "If the Platonians one day truly decide to reinvent themselves and move forward as a society, they could do many great things."

"They won't," Alexander said. "They're too addicted to their petty joys."

"Like the Q," Elle said.

"The who?" Kirk asked.

Elle stuffed lasagna in her mouth and waved her hand vaguely. _Abort, abort, too early_. She sat there, tense, waiting for a flash of light that would herald the omnipotent being. Nothing happened and slowly she relaxed.

A decorative vase fell over across the room.

Elle stiffened, as did everyone at the table.

"Wasn't me," Kirk and McCoy said at the same time, and everyone turned to look at Spock.

"It was not I," Spock said firmly.

"Hmph," was McCoy's reply.

Elle stifled a desperate giggle into her soda, but nothing else happened that night, and dinner with their Platonian guest was considered a success.

-/\\-

They dropped Alexander off at the nearest starbase. From there he'd hitch a ride with Excelsior and go back to Earth to see how humans had grown over the last two thousand years. He was quite relieved to be done with telekinetic jerkbenders.

Elle missed his presence. With their guest gone, she had to go back to studying art with Ensign Bacara. It wasn't terrible, he was just annoying in his dedication to cubism.

"I like cubes, man," Elle said, pointing to her own Minecraft shirt, "but in 3D. _3D_ , Ensign."

Bacara sighed. "Fine. What if we use the interactive holographic files of cubism to explore color usage?"

Elle scowled suspiciously. "No Picasso."

"No Picasso."


	76. Don't Wink at Me

"Lt. Uhura was right. Your fluency for module 3 Vulcan is satisfactory," Spock pronounced.

Elle cleared her throat and resisted the urge to squeal. Instead she said, "Wait. You _doubted_ Lt. _Uhura_?"

"I did not," Spock said firmly, and added, "I am aware of adolescent humans' predilection to sow divisions amongst their parental figures."

Elle gave him an innocent smile and didn't reply. She handed him back the PADD with the Vulcan language class on it.

He tapped a few buttons and handed it back to her. "You are approved for Module 4."

"Yay," Elle said, scanning the lesson titles. This one had more Old High vocab and a _lot_ more philosophy/poetry/culutural essays in it.

Spock handed her another datapad. "Instead of today's science lesson, you will be taking this placement test."

"Placement test?" Elle echoed, accepting the datapad automatically. "Into what? Did I finally make it into high school?"

Spock gave her a stern look. "I am also aware of adolescent humans' tendency to self-deprecating humor, and it does your psyche and your self-worth no favors, _ax'nav_."

She stared at him, her cheeks hot. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I was not aware you were hearing impaired," he said.

Ouch. Elle ducked her head, her instinctive self-doubt easing a bit. She looked through the placement test headers. "What curriculum is this for?" she asked instead. She came to the essay questions section. It was all in Vulcan. "Spock. _Spock_. Is this a placement test to the _VSA_?"

"It is," he said.

"I may not be a 21st century idiot anymore but I'm _definitely_ not VSA quality," Elle said, dropping the PADD on the counter like it was a scorpion. "And I'm not even sixteen!"

"The placement tests are not logged in VSA records, only the entrance exams are," Spock said calmly, "and many times ones grades and accomplishments are sufficient for an invitation without having to apply, in any case. This test is merely to measure your growth and provide a metric for your future classes, as the VSA is the highest standard of education in the Federation excepting Star Fleet Academy."

"So you don't want me to join the VSA," Elle asked, suddenly needing clarification.

He met her gaze, his eyes gentle. "I want you to do what you feel is best for your education, your happiness, and your future as a mission consultant to the Enterprise and the Federation, regardless of anyone else's preferences."

She gave him a smile. "Can I hug you?"

He rolled his eyes ceilingward. "A brief hug," he said, and when she hugged him he patted her on the back.

"Not to interrupt this incredibly tender moment," McCoy said from the doorway, where he was in fact interrupting this incredibly tender moment, "but I need your sign off on departmental transfers, Commander."

Elle went back to her datapad, but she didn't miss the fond smile McCoy was giving both her and Spock as the two officers discussed transferring a couple of exobiologists from Starbase 4.

"And we shall arrive at the site of the distress call in four hours," Spock reminded McCoy.

"Sickbay will be ready," McCoy retorted. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

Elle choked on a giggle.

-/\\-

"What are you making?"

"A tribble. For Captain Kirk."

Lt. Riley huffed a laugh. "Playing with fire, aren't ya?"

"He can't not accept it," Elle said, grinning fiendishly, and began to wield a texture-scraper to create the fur.

"Sickbay to Elle."

Elle answered the page. "Elle here, Bones, what's up?"

"Can you come down here?" McCoy asked, tense.

She frowned. "I'll be right there." She put everything away and hustled down to Sickbay. "What's wrong?"

"Elle have you been in Sickbay at all today?" Bones asked, looking solemn.

"No," Elle replied. "Today's not my Bio class. What's wrong?"

"Every since we came back from the planet systems have been glitching and now everyone's rifled through the medical stores," McCoy said, and gave her a stern parental look. "Do you know anything about it?"

Elle shook her head. "It wasn't me," she said honestly.

"All right then," he said. "Can you help the nurses do inventory? Whoever it was is gonna get an earful if they took anything."

"Sure." She went to join Chris and Lia in the medical supply rooms.

The lights flickered as they scanned item inventories and cabinets. "Another malfunction?" Chapel asked.

"Have we tried turning it off and on again?" Elle joked. "Everything in this cabinet's accounted for, Nurse." She heard the captain talking in the main ward, and then he was gone. She moved on to the next cabinet.

The all-call clicked on. "All hands, intruder alert. Intruders are aboard ship, unable to be detected by instruments." The comm crackled with heavy interference, shrieked, and cleared. Uhura forged on. "All hands to be issued phasers and communicators. Maintain alertness. Repeat, all hands to be issued-" The comm shrieked again and fell silent.

Elle shared a nervous glance with Chapel.

"Come on, Elle." Nurse Chapel took Elle's hand, and within minutes, Elle was strapping a phaser and a communicator to her waist. The belt was the smallest size they had, and it was still loose on her hips.

Lt. Martinez frowned at the sight. "We'll need to make you a custom equipment belt and holsters."

"Maybe after the intruders are dealt with?" Elle asked.

Martinez squeezed her shoulder with a bracing smile and went off to issue phasers to more crewmen.

Elle looked down at the phaser hanging off her waist and took a deep breath.

Something buzzed near her ear.

She swatted absently at it. "Bones, I'm fine," she said.

"Well that's good to hear," he said, from the other side of the room.

She looked up, startled. "Were you just scanning me?"

"No." He frowned. "Why?"

"I felt, like there was a bug or something. Does the Enterprise have bees?"

"If they did I feel like you would've found them already, the way you and Sulu carry on about your earthworms." McCoy grabbed a tricorder and scanned her head. "Well you're not hallucinating. Same as Jim. Nothing wrong with you."

Elle bit her lip, scowling. This felt familiar, something itching at the back of her mind as persistently as the buzzing in the air. "I guess." She checked the chrono. "I've got math with Ensign Rohan, can I go?"

"Nurse Chen, walk with Elle to her class," McCoy ordered. "I don't want you wanderin' the corridors alone, Elle."

Nurse Chen walked her to one of the break rooms used by Ops, and Ensign Rohan smiled at her. "Ready to talk about imaginary numbers?" he asked.

Elle groaned. "Sure, why not? We've already got imaginary insects, apparently."

He pulled up an instructional video made by a cheerful woman in a colorful classroom. "This professor explains it much better than me," he said.

They watched the video. "Why does this make sense?" Elle asked, scratching her head with her stylus. "It shouldn't make sense but it does."

"See?" Rohan said. "Now work on this problem and I'll make us some tea."

Elle made it through the first few steps of the math equation and paused to drink her tea. She wrinkled her nose. "It's kind of bitter," she said.

Rohan frowned and took a sip of his own tea. "I didn't oversteep it," he said. "There's nothiiiiiiiiiii-"

Elle blinked. She blinked again in shock as Rohan seemed to slow down and freeze, teacup held in mid-air. "What..." She shook her head, trying to clear the sudden blur out of her eyes. "Ensign?"

The world tilted underneath her feet and she gripped her head as a sharp pain lanced through her brain. The world went black.

-/\\-

The world faded back into normal speed, full of sound and fury and a face full of carpet.

"-no right to transform anyone else!" The captain was shouting. Why was he shouting?

"But it's a child!" said a pleading, feminine voice. "We haven't seen a child in so long!"

"Even more reason to leave her alone!" Kirk retorted. "If anything happens to her-"

Elle blinked fully awake, rolling away from the captain's angry voice. "Wha's goin' on?" she mumbled. Her limbs felt heavy, uncoordinated, and then a second later she felt fine.

"Easy," Kirk said, helping her sit up.

She shrank back into his side when she caught sight of the three humanoids standing above them. "What's going on?" she asked. "I was just doing math with Ensign..." She trailed off.

Ensign Rohan sat at the table, holding a communicator to his mouth, alarm on his motionless features.

Elle turned back to stare at the three intruders dressed in silver fabric. Scalos. Buzzing. Slo-mo. "Oh," she said, her cheeks burning at her own stupidity. This was an episode, and she'd totally missed it.

"It's all right," Kirk said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "We've been accelerated to their speed. It's all right."

"We didn't mean to frighten you," the woman in charge said, looking terribly earnest. "It's only, we've had no children in so long-" She held out a hand to help Elle up. "Come, what's your name, child?"

"My name is Elle." She got up on her own, ignoring the woman's delicate frown. "What do you want with me?"

"Nothing, just, oh, you're so young." The woman cupped Elle's face in her hands. "So fragile."

Elle pulled away from her and hid behind Captain Kirk. "Well if you were just gonna stare at me creepily you didn't have to speed me up, too," she pointed out.

"Now, of course, you have even more reason to help us, captain," one of the men pointed out, giving him a Look.

Kirk frowned and put an arm around Elle protectively. "Don't you dare threaten her. She has nothing to do with this."

The woman stepped forward and tried to pet Elle's hair again. "You're so young," she said again. "You will be the most treasured of our new civilization."

Elle shrank backwards. "Listen, lady, you may be competing for skimpy clothes with Wonder Woman but I only accept the baby reaction meme from the modern Diana Prince and not some Alvin backup singer."

The woman frowned. "I believe our translators are malfunctioning," she said.

Kirk snorted.

Elle scooted around behind him and frowned from behind his shoulder. "I _meant_ , don't touch me."

"It's all right," the woman said gently, "we won't hurt you. None of us will hurt you. I'm Deela, the queen of the Scalosians. We're taking you and Captain Kirk to our home planet to live, won't that be nice?"

"No," Elle said, "I want to stay here."

"That can be arranged," the grim man said.

"No," Deela said sharply. "If this isn't viable, we need a younger generation to carry on."

Elle shook her head. "Viable for what?"

"Their men are sterile," Kirk said grimly. "We've been recruited to assist. They're gonna deep freeze the Enterprise and keep us, apparently."

"I will probably make you a princess," Deela told Elle, "keeper of all the knowledge in case I and my sister die before we bear children. It will be so nice to have a young one around."

Elle stared at her. "You're gonna Stockholm Syndrome me?"

"It happened to Compton," Kirk said. "If you don't burn out right away you adjust to the change and become, complacent, with it."

Elle shook her head. "I don't want to."

Deela gave Elle a beatific smile. "It's all right, child. Go to your quarters, pick out what you'd like to bring to Scalos. We'll be going down soon and I'm sure you'd like something of your own to bring with you."

"She needs a guard," the stern man said.

"Oh, Rael, please, what can she do?" Deela waved a hand. "Run along, now. I have to speak to Captain Kirk."

Elle hovered uncertainly.

"Go on," Kirk said, giving her a significant Look that read ' _go find Spock'_. "I have to speak to Deela."

Elle wrinkled her nose at him as in the next second he turned on the flirtatious charm. "I changed my mind, you're definitely Obi-Wan," she muttered, hurrying from the room before Rael the Grim could change his mind. "Flirting with your enemies. Ew."

She walked through the hallways, gingerly weaving around crewmen frozen in various postures. Where would Spock be at this time? She went to the computer panel on the wall and tapped at it.

It didn't register.

She tapped at it again. Nothing. Was it too fast for the sensor to catch it? She pressed her finger on the activation sensor for what seemed an eternity.

The wall panel activated.

"If I have to type out 'where is Commander Spock' it's gonna take me an hour," Elle realized. "I can probably search the whole ship by then."

So she did. Whatever modifications the Scalosians had made masquerading as "malfunctions" had fixed the doors and lifts to respond to them. Thinking of turbolifts going the same speed as Elle herself freaked her out so she took the stairs and ladders instead.

She found Spock and Bones in one of the Medical Labs, clustered around a cup of coffee and a mug of tea. Elle's mug of tea. They must've realized by now that Elle was gone. How long had she been unconscious from the transition? Never mind.

Elle stood right next to Spock. "Spock," she said slowly.

He tilted his head but it didn't seem to register.

She tried again. "Spock, it's me, it's Elle, I'm right here, me and Captain Kirk are on the ship but we're sped up."

No change in movement but as she watched with bated breath, his face changed to the beginnings of a microexpresion: suspicion.

Okay. He could hear her but he probably thought she was an intruder. _Think, Elle, think_. She paced the length of the lab. What could she use to communicate with them? In the episode they'd figured it out from Captain Kirk's recording on a data disk, but that was too slow. What else?

She rifled through the lab and the surrounding labs and offices, trying to find something to use. A stack of flimsi caught her eye. Paper. Of course. _Of course_. "Modern problems require modern solutions," she murmured to herself.

Except that in the 23rd century, flimsi came out of printers for hardcopy data. Nobody used pens or pencils.

Elle tried the synthesizer. It didn't react to her button-pressing. "Ugh."

She went through the rooms again, and found a tube of lipstick in a drawer in one of the nurse's offices. "Needs must," she said, and grabbed it. It was a deep red.

By the time she was done, the medical lab looked like a scene from a horror movie. "It's not blood, I swear," she murmured apologetically, as she covered all the surfaces in the room with flimsi and began to write out the details of the situation with the lipstick. On the last paper she wrote, "Please hurry, _a'nirih_." Hopefully that would be enough to convince Spock it was really Elle.

She set the lipstick down directly in Spock's eyeline, and left before any of the Scalosians could come looking for her.

Her stomach grumbled and she made her way to the rec deck. The synthesizers wouldn't accept her voice commands but hopefully someone had food on their tray that she could swipe.

Lt. Erickson had a bowl of stir-fy and rice. Elle picked it up. "Sorry," she said. "I'll get you a new lunch once this is all over."

He didn't reply. He couldn't.

Elle left the rec deck, unnerved by the unnatural stillness of her friends and family. Oh, they were moving all right, if you stayed still long enough to watch them, but it was an agonizing process categorizing their actions, millimeter by millimeter.

She found an unoccupied mess hall and sat down to eat. She should've swiped something to drink, too.

One of the Scalosians entered the room as she finished her food. "Come with me," he commanded.

"Why?" Elle shot back.

"It's time for us to go down to the planet."

"I don't want to," Elle said. "Where's Captain Kirk?"

"He's with Deela. Come along."

"No," Elle said, lifting her chin. "I want to go down with Captain Kirk or not at all."

The Scalosian gave her a tired sigh and tapped his communicator. "Rael, the girl doesn't want to go without the captain."

"Leave her," Rael said tiredly. "I'll get her in a moment when Deela is ready to go down."

"Understood." The Scalosian smiled at her. "Don't worry. It won't be long." He left.

Elle stifled a shudder. She'd have to play keepaway from Rael until Spock and McCoy managed to make some sort of antidote.


	77. Busy Doin' Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have finished writing this volume hurray! I'm hoping to sync up this posting schedule with my FF.net one, so I will be posting multiple chapters until Thursday, when I start posting the second story in the series. So bear with me!

She wandered through the ship, trying to catch different people with funny faces. "Is this what Quicksilver feels like?" she asked the frozen crewmembers in the hallway. "Or Flash? Is this how fast they go?"

She meandered down to Engineering, hoping to use the Jefferies Tubes as her getaway if one of the Scalosians came looking for her, and the captain passed her at a run. He had Deela's weapon in his hand.

"We have to destroy the device," Kirk snapped as he passed her and she turned on her heel to follow him.

They made it to Environmental Engineering, Life Support section. Kirk put out a hand. "Stay here," he ordered Elle.

She flattened herself against the wall a little ways away from the open door, wary of bouncing stun shots as Kirk charged the room. A stun blast shot out of the open door and dissolved into the wall. There was the sound of another two shots, and something exploded.

"Clear," Kirk called.

Elle headed for the door. "Nice!"

Someone grabbed her from behind. "You shouldn't have done that," Deela said, wrapping her slim hand around the back of Elle's neck, her other hand gripping Elle's arm. "You are very clever, captain. You tricked me. I should've known that you would never adjust."

Elle had the distinct privilege of watching Kirk's vaguely-satisfied expression turn to one of pure icy rage before he smoothed it away into a bland diplomatic smile. "Let go of Elle, please."

"Why should I?" Deela asked. "You won't dare to harm me or risk hitting her. One scratch, captain, and her life flashes away before your eyes."

Kirk's charming smile stayed on. "What do you want?"

"Beam us both down to Scalos."

"No," Kirk said flatly.

"You must," Deela said. "Or do you value the life of your children so little?"

"You know that if you take Elle, Star Fleet will keep sending ships," Kirk said.

Deela gave him a sad smile. "You are very clever," she said again, wistful. "Yes, precisely. Or, we could trade. You could come with me, and your child could stay here."

The captain gave Elle a considering look. Was he actually considering it?

Elle felt something resolve heavily in her chest. _Great Bird, let this work..._ She stomped on Deela's foot as hard as possible with her combat boots, elbowed the queen in the gut with her teenager-y pointy elbow, and twisted out of Deela's grip. She stumbled over to Kirk, safely away from the Scalosians. "Eh? Eh?" Elle said, breathless. "That was good, right?"

Kirk covered Deela with the stun weapon. "Don't even try it," he warned.

Deela smiled sadly. "Of course. Neither of you would accept a fate someone else set out for you." She gave Kirk a supplicant look. "What shall we expect from you now?"

"We could put you in suspended animation until we determine what to do with you," Kirk offered.

"Your survival does not depend on that."

"No, it doesn't. What do you want us to do with you?"

The sad smile turned bitter. "Don't make a game of it, Captain. We've lost."

"If I sent you to Scalos, you'd undoubtedly play the same trick on the next spaceship that passed by."

"There won't be any others. You'll warn them. Your Federation will quarantine the entire area."

"Yes, I suppose it would."

"And we will die and solve your problem that way. And ours."

Kirk lifted his chin. "I will beam you and Rael down to Scalos. Elle, take his stun weapon."

She disarmed Rael and woke him up. "Time to beam down," she said grimly.

They marched the two Scalosians to the transporter room and Rael got on the dais. Deela hesitated. "You could still find life on Scalos very pleasant," she offered.

"And very brief," Kirk quipped.

"It'll be just as brief here. You cannot get back to your own level."

Kirk and Elle exchanged a glance and Elle shrugged.

"No answer, Captain? Do I displease you so much?" Deela asked, pouting.

He gave her a semi-genuine smile. "Oh, no. I can think of nothing I'd rather do than stay with you. Except staying alive." He moved to the console. "Goodbye, Deela." And he beamed them down.

Elle looked over at the captain. "Why didn't we help them?"

He sighed. "Elle..."

"We could've helped them," Elle said. "Accelerated a couple of geneticists, maybe Bones, or M'Benga, and done some IVF or something."

"Would that solve the problem?" Kirk asked gently. "There were only two women, and they said themselves their entire race became infertile. Even accelerated, there's no way the geneticists could create a human-Scalosian hybrid before the Scalosians got too old to care for their babies. And is that any way to live? Would it be right to create children for that environment, for that speed of existence?"

Elle stared at him. "But, their whole culture will die."

Kirk shook his head, still impossibly gentle. "We can't save everyone, Elle. We can try, but we we can't save everyone. Sometimes civilizations just die." He drew her into a hug.

She hid her face in his shoulder and maybe cried a little bit. "So what are we gonna do instead?" she asked, drawing back and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "How are we gonna get back to normal?"

He shepherded her from the transporter room and they started walking towards sickbay. "Well, if Deela was right about the conversion, that one minute in normal time equals an hour here... It's only been five minutes since you disappeared."

"Five _minutes_?" Elle gaped. "It can't be... oh man. How long will it take Spock and McCoy to figure out how to make an antidote?"

Kirk led the way into sickbay. "Well first they have to find out what happened to us," he said, rubbing a hand over his face. "I left a tape but I don't know if they'll be able to decipher..." He trailed off as he noticed the flimsi with lipstick scattered around the med lab, half the flimsi in the hands of a shocked McCoy. "What on earth- is that _blood_?"

Elle stifled a hysterical giggle. "No, it's lipstick."

"Lipstick?"

"We needed a low-tech solution," Elle said. "So now they know where we are, how long will it take?"

Kirk grinned at the expression on Bones' face. "Well, knowing these two, they'll knock something out in an hour, hour and a half maybe?"

"Ninety minutes," Elle said, and gaped. "That's _three days!_ What are we gonna do for _three days_?"

Kirk patted his stomach. "Get something to eat, for starters."

Elle grimaced. "You'll have to swipe something from somebody's plate. Synthesizers don't register us."

Kirk rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure, hotwire all the doors to stay open and rewire all the main systems, but not the food?"

"Can't eat when you're an icicle," Elle reminded him.

"True."

They scrounged up some pizza from the Rec Deck, settled into a sofa, and ate at their leisure, surrounded by the frozen living statues of their crewmates.

"Do you think this is how Medusa felt?" Elle asked. "The real Medusa, not the species."

"No," the captain replied slowly. "She turned those men to real stone, and she was surrounded by her attackers, not friends making odd faces."

Elle considered this. "So we're better off."

"Yes, we are." The captain wiped his mouth with a napkin, set the plate aside and gestured across the room. "Game of chess? It's been a long day."

"Too long," Elle agreed, and stifled a laugh. "If we play like you and Spock do, real slow, will the crew just see an animated chess set moving on its own?"

Kirk laughed. "We'll have to find out."

Elle got the white pieces since she was still a novice and they played. By the time Kirk captured her queen and half of her pieces, Elle was already sleepy. "I think it's bedtime," she said, and stifled a yawn. "I concede."

He walked her to her quarters. "Sleep tight."

She hesitated. "I know the ship's not really haunted," she said awkwardly, cheeks bright-red, "but it feels like it, and um-"

He gave her an understanding smile. "Should I sleep on the couch? In case anything happens."

"If you wouldn't mind," Elle said sheepishly. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "To be honest, I was going to camp out in the hall in case of emergencies. I do not like being cut off from communications."

Elle frowned. "We're not gonna burn out and die, right?"

"Absolutely not."

"Okay, cool."

By the time he went to his quarters for pajamas and back, Elle was already in bed. "Night, captain," she called through the door.

"G'night, Elle." He stretched out on the sofa in the living room.

Elle didn't remember falling asleep.

-/\\-

She woke to the smell of coffee. She shuffled out to the living room. "Captain?"

"Stole Scotty's coffee," the captain said, lifting the mug in greeting. "It still had steam."

"Nice." She changed out of pajamas and came back out to the living room. "What are we going to do today?"

"How do you feel about systems repair?" he asked. "The Scalosians very kindly left us glitches in every single system."

"After breakfast, right?" Elle asked hopefully.

"After breakfast," he agreed.

They spent approximately eight hours crawling around the ship, rewiring things and fixing long-range comms, life support, helm control, and a few other things.

"I think we were too efficient," Kirk said, as they swiped a plate of lasagna and spicy ramen, respectively. "That still leaves us two days."

"Vacation," Elle suggested.

"True."

They read the rest of Around the World in Eighty Days together, "talk about speedrun", and then they slept.

After breakfast, Kirk went off to read Crime and Punishment like a nerd, and Elle wandered down to her engineering classroom to find something to do. Maybe she could upgrade Commander Stabby. Give him a claw or something.

She swerved to go around Lt. Riley and Lt. Tomlinson, and had to stop and giggle. They were stuck mid-laugh and had the most hilarious expressions on their faces. "This like catching one of those animation smears," Elle said, who had watched a total of two (2) YouTube videos on the subject. "I need a holocamera."

She went back to her quarters, grabbed her camera, and went to take a picture of them. It took half a minute for the shutter to click and by then it was just a blur.

Elle sighed. "Is there any way to turn up your shutter speed, or whatever passes for a shutter on a holocam?" she asked the device, flipping it upside down to inspect the buttons.

There was only a way to turn it down, for long-exposure.

Elle sighed again. As Scotty was currently playing Weeping Angel on the bridge... she went to find the captain. "Hey, captain? You have a degree in Engineering, right?"

"I do, yes," Kirk said, eyeing her oddly. "Why?"

She handed him the camera. "Is there a way to increase the capture rate so that it won't come out blurry?"

"Why?" he asked, flipping open the camera to scout the components.

"No reason," Elle replied.

"Uh-huh." He connected the holocam to his PADD. "Give me a minute."

"So what's Crime and Punishment about?" Elle asked.

"This guy kills an old lady," Kirk replied.

Elle blinked. "And?"

"And then goes insane with guilt, I think," Kirk said.

Elle gaped at him. "Why would you read that?"

"To see this author's take on the human conscience," he replied.

"I don't have to read it, right?"

He laughed. "No, you don't have to read it." He unplugged the camera and handed it back. "Here you are. Don't do anything Spock wouldn't do."

Elle almost, _almost_ , made a joke about mutiny, but she physically pushed the thought away. What came out instead was, "So I can go into the reactor core?" Which was, arguably, one hundred times worse.

Kirk's face turned white. "Ex _cuse me?_ " he said.

Elle stared back at him, the blood draining from her face in equal measure. "I have to tell you about Khan," she breathed.

" _Khan_?" He pointed to the armchair across from him. "Sit down."

She sat, holocam perched in her lap. "This is a big spoiler," she warned him.

He sat down heavily. "Elle, everything you tell me is a big spoiler."

"True." She fidgeted. "So, you know how you dropped Khan and his people on that one planet? So, the planet next to them blows up and shifts their own planet out of orbit, and they swear revenge on you, and then Chekov ends up scouting that planet, and they take over a Star Fleet ship and come after the Enterprise, and you stop him."

"And at some point during that time, Spock goes into the _reactor core_?"

"Yeah. To save the ship."

Kirk scrubbed his hands over his face. "Of course he would." He looked down at his hands for a long moment. "When we are back to normal, I will... communicate this to HQ. Thank you for letting me know, Elle."

She gave him a thumbs-up and edged out of the chair. "Can I go now?"

"Go," he said, shooing her away.

Lt. Riley and Tomlinson were still laughing when Elle found them again. She stood a little bit in front of them, made her own funny face, and took a selfie. The camera "shutter" snapped.

The photo was not blurry.

Elle fist-pumped. "Oh yeah, we're good."

She scouted through the ship, looking for hilarious poses or moments, always including her own funny face to make it fair. That only took a couple of hours. She set them all to print on flimsi and left it to do its thing at normal-speed. Whoever checked the copier in the next few minutes was going to find a treasure trove.

She sorted the yeomen's stationery by color and drew a dinosaur on the whiteboard. That only took thirty minutes (the yeomen were extremely organized).

She went to the Requisitions department and did inventory. The two loose pieces of flimsi that didn't fit in the box, she folded into origami ducks. One she posed on Cmdr. Chanax's head and took a selfie with him, and the other she went to place on Sulu's head, on the bridge. She took another selfie. She figured that Chekov, at least, would get a kick out of it.

It was only 1130 when she went to flop on the carpet facedown near the captain's armchair. "I'm bored," she mumbled into the carpet, and realized the captain was wearing non-regulation fluffy dog slippers. "Where did you get _those_?"

"Secret gift exchange last year," Kirk replied absently.

Elle stayed on the floor and contemplated the carpet fibers. There was glitter in front of her nose. "I'm bored," she said again.

"Go read a book. Draw something."

She flopped over to stare at the ceiling. "Can I use paints and make a mural in the mess hall?"

"If you can finish it before we get decelerated, sure," Kirk said. "Make sure they're washable."

"Awesome." She stayed on the floor. "Can you read out loud?"

He hid a smile behind his hand and started to read out loud.

-/\\-

"Day Three of Our Exile into the Speed Dimension," Elle narrated, as she walked through the corridors to the mess hall. "I have played fifty games of solitaire and shuffled the cards too fast, causing them to spontaneously combust. I have therefore been banned from playing soltaire."

Kirk laughed. "Who are you talking to?"

"The aliens in the X Dimension who are watching us," Elle said. "Or as I like to call them, my YouTube followers!"

"You're so weird," he said fondly, and ruffled her hair.

"Oh come on, captain, don't pretend you've never acted like you were giving an interview, or narrated a show, while you were doing stuff," Elle replied.

He grinned. "There may be some home footage of a young Jim Kirk baking cookies, somewhere."

Elle laughed, delighted. "Nice. Next time we're on Earth I need to go visit your parents."

"I'll have to tell her to hide the home videos," he mused.

"No!"

After breakfast, the captain proposed a project. "How about we make a Rube Goldberg machine?"

Elle grinned slowly. "Captain, you are a genius."

Five sets of ping-pong balls filched out of Req, thirty dinner plates, twelve binders, forty railings borrowed from maintenance, and various sundry articles later, they had a Rube Goldberg machine that extended through the length of the ship, from bow to stern in the primary hull.

They tipped the ball, and both of them watched in dismay as it fell forward at a snail's pace.

"We forgot the acceleration," Kirk said, facepalming. 

Elle groaned. "All that work..."

"Well, whoever's walking through will get a surprise," Kirk said, shrugging. "We'll do it again when we get back to normal."

They went to get lunch and let the ping-pong ball do its thing.


	78. Shoulda Taken the Brainwashing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I will be posting multiple chapters every day until Thursday to finish posting this volume, so if you haven't read Chap 77, go back! 
> 
> Also I don't know if this counts as a trigger but, light trigger warning for non-graphic description of puking your guts out.

"If I snag those chips from Ensign Mohan will he be mad?"

"Elle, you just ate."

"I know but I'm still hungry."

"I think it's something to do with our accelerated speed," Kirk said. "We've been eating every couple of hours."

Elle nodded slowly. "We're gonna run out of food if we have to stay here any longer."

"There are stored rations," he assured her.

Elle made the appropriate face of displeasure.

"I know, but hopefully-"

Spock appeared around the corner. "Captain!" he said, his shoulders dropping. "Elle! I am relieved to see you unharmed."

"Spock!" Elle barely managed to stop herself from hugging him. "You're here! Does that mean you figured out how to get us back to normal?"

"It does," Spock said, and turned to the captain. "The Scalosians?"

"Back on their planet," Kirk replied.

"I deduced as such when the extraneous device disappeared from life support. You and Elle repaired the system glitches?"

"Yes."

"It took us a whole day," Elle said. "We've been here for three days already."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating. That would account for the extremely detailed Rube Goldberg machine spanning the length of the hull? And the disappearance of both food and beverages throughout the ship?"

Elle grinned. "Yeah."

"Did you bring the antidote?" Kirk asked.

Spock waved a hand. "Dr. McCoy wishes for you to take it in sickbay, in case of adverse reactions. This antidote was only tested in the lab, not a human being, but we were opposed to waiting any longer."

"Understood."

They went to sickbay, where Bones was waiting, arms crossed and scowling at an empty biobed.

Kirk sat on the empty biobed and Spock handed him a vial of clear liquid. Kirk knocked it back, grimaced at the taste, and lay down on the biobed. "I don't feel anything," he said. "Is it supposed toooooo-"

Elle watched in fascination as the captain's mouth slowly stilled and he froze, unmoving, upon the biobed. "Whoa. That worked."

"Let us take a tour of the ship and review the last of the system glitches," Spock said, ushering Elle away. "By the time we come back, Dr. McCoy will be able to tell us if it is safe for you to take the antidote."

"Okay."

An exhaustive tour of ship's systems and engineering consoles later, they returned to sickbay.

There was a note written on the wall in erasable marker. "Both clear to come back."

Elle sat on the biobed next to a motionless Nurse Chapel and Spock handed her another vial. "See you in a minute," she said, grinning at Spock.

"Indeed," he said, amused.

She swallowed the antidote and made a face. "Ewwwww, fake strawberry." She lay down on the bed. "Wait, my caaaaa-" She felt like she was falling through a tunnel, the lights on the ceiling flickering, and Spock slowly disappeared from her vision.

"-mera," she said, and stared at Nurse Chapel as the nurse startled.

"Elle! Doctor, she's back."

Elle stared up at the nurse, Chapel's voice sounded too slow, the vowels too round. "S'mthin's wrong with m'ears," she said, and her own voice sounded like a slo-mo.

"Elle, can you hear me?" Chapel asked.

"Feel sick," Elle groaned, as her stomach rebelled.

Chapel held up a well-timed basin. "Can I get an anti-emetic, Lia, thanks," she said calmly, and rubbed Elle's back.

Elle barely noticed, too busy trying to puke up the last week and a half's worth of food and bile.

"You're okay," Chapel said soothingly. "You're okay."

Elle coughed and spit up again. "Lies," she wheezed.

A hypospray hissed against her neck. Ah, and the captain was also hurling his guts out. Lovely.

The anti-nausea meds kicked in and Elle stopped heaving. Chapel handed her a cup of water and made her rinse her mouth. "Mint," Chapel said, encouraging her to eat the hard candy on the side table.

Elle sucked on the peppermint candy and closed her eyes against the brightness of the lights and the strangeness of people's voices. She curled up under the thin sheet, feeling hot and cold and miserable.

"Elle, can you open your eyes," Chapel said gently.

"No," Elle forced her eyes open and glared at Chapel. "Light hurts," she bit out.

Someone lowered the lights, but the beeping from the biobed didn't stop. It increased the pounding in Elle's head. She shivered and curled up under the blanket. "M'cold."

"She's going into shock," someone said. Lia?

"I don't dare give her a stimulant," Chapel said.

Somewhere in all that, to the background sounds of Spock arguing with Dr. M'Benga about 'shock levels inapplicable to Vulcans', Elle fell asleep.

-/\\-

Elle woke up with the violent urge to puke her bones out. Another well-placed basin saved her from making a mess.

An alert started to beep.

"Shoulda taken, the brainwashing," Elle moaned, spitting the bad taste out of her mouth.

"Brainwashing?" Nurse Lia asked, swapping her for a disposa-wipe and water.

"Ughh." Elle rinsed her mouth, took a sip of the water, and made a face as it threatened to come up.

"Can you drink more of that?" Nurse Lia asked.

"Nuh-uh." She shoved it back at the nurse, unable to even look at the sloshing water.

"We're gonna have to put you on a drip, honey, you need fluids."

"Everything hurts," Elle complained. At least the hearing distortion had stopped. Their voices sounded normal, now.

"I know, but you're still dehydrated. Do you think juice'll stay down better?"

"Don't know," Elle said, and closed her eyes as a muscle spasm ran through her whole body. "What went wrong?" she asked, and groaned as a migraine burst into life.

"Nothing," Nurse Lia said.

Elle gave her a stink eye and covered her head with her pillow.

"Our bodies don't like going a hundred miles per hour and then stopping," Lia said, rubbing Elle's back. "This is your body trying to normalize itself. Sorry."

"Shoulda taken the gnat-life," Elle mumbled.

"If I give you a migraine pill will you drink some juice?"

"Maybe."

That was a solid, or rather a liquid, hard no. Lia resorted to a hypospray and an IV drip.

Elle went back to sleep, exhausted.

-/\\-

"I am never throwing up, ever again," Elle decided, on the third day of The Worst Case of Stomach Devil Flu Due To Aliens.

"Agreed," the captain said, from his bed across the room.

McCoy had stuck them both in there. "Y'all can keep each other entertained, and I can have all my trouble-patients in one spot."

"I'm not a trouble-patient," Elle protested.

"True," McCoy conceded. "You're actually good. If the captain tries to run, holler."

"Yes, sir," Elle said.

"Traitor," Kirk said, voice hoarse.

"I know who holds the painkillers," Elle told him.

"Good point."

-/\\-

"Okay, okay, but if he _had just asked-_ "

"He couldn't ask without sounding suspicious-"

"I know, but if he had just _asked_ -"

"That's why it's called dramatic tension-"

"-they could've worked together much sooner!"

Spock and Bones came into the room. " _What_ are you two hollerin' about?" Bones demanded.

Elle and Kirk gave them matching guilty grins. "We're discussing the Scarlet Pimpernel," Kirk said.

"Can you discuss it without raising your blood pressure?" McCoy asked dryly.

"Nope," Elle said.

McCoy gave her a cup of soup. "Then drink your soup and be quiet."

Elle pouted.


	79. Something Worse Than Klingons

"Today you will be learning the science behind supernovas, by practical experience," Spock said.

Elle raised her hand. "We're not doing another dive-bomb to the past, are we?"

"No," Spock said. "We will be doing a real world study of the Minarian star system, which is close to going nova. The Enterprise is en route to retrieve the survey team located on one of the planets."

"Cool. Are we staying for the big bang?"

"We are not. It still has several months left, if not years. That is partly why we study dying stars, to be able to more accurately predict other stars life cycles."

"Well as long as you catch Romulus in time it should be fine," Elle replied.

Spock's eyebrow hit his bangs. "Clarify."

"You know? Romulus goes nova in like a hundred fifty years or something."

Spock looked alarmed. "I did not know that."

"Whoops. Now you do?" she offered. "I always thoguht since the reboot movies came out that that's why you were so set on reunification, to get them to accept Federation help... no? Okay. I'll be quiet." She affected nonchalance as Spock stared at her.

"We will come back to this topic," he finally said, "If and when I choose to pursue reunification. I shall inform the VSA however."

"Yeah."

"The supernova we are concerned with today, however..."

After studying life cycle of stars and analyzing the readings that heralded the beginning of the nova process, they moved to one of the sensor labs.

"Astrometrics," Elle said, pleased.

"Astro-telemetry," Spock corrected.

"Give it a few years."

Spock sighed in that Vulcan way of his where he lowered his eyebrows a fraction.

Elle stifled a giggle.

She got hands-on training on how to read the incoming data from the long-range and short-range sensors regarding the star. "There's so much information..."

"Indeed. The computer collates and summarizes the data for the most part, but we still have trained crew to read the incoming raw data, as computers lack the intuition living minds can use."

"Cool."

Spock pointed to a set of signal readouts. "What does this tell you?"

"Uhhhhhh, big solar flare?"

"Correct. Which means?"

Elle chewed on her lip. "Sunburn?"

Spock quirked an eyebrow. "In what situation did we recently use solar flares?"

Elle groaned. "To create ion storms. _Oh no_ , I just got done being nauseous."

"Dr. McCoy can give you the appropriate treatment," Spock assured her.

"But space Dramamine makes me sleepy though."

"Then sleep," he said logically.

Elle sighed. "I guess."

"We will be arriving at Minara soon," Spock said.

"Cool."

That evening they made planetfall. Elle played virtual Minecraft all evening and went to bed armed with ginger ale and space Dramamine on her bedside table.

The ion storm hit around 0200. Elle woke up long enough to take the pills, sip some soda, and go back to sleep.

The storm lasted for another seventeen hours, after which time the away team beamed back up. Elle never heard the whole story, but the original survey team had died.

The Enterprise left the next day.

-/\\-

At their next literature night, the captain handed Elle a datapadd. "Read this," he said.

She pointed at the hardbound novel in his other hand. "I want that one."

"Not yet." He pointed at the PADD. "Read."

Elle scrolled down the list of warnings. 'Classified-level 2-senior officers only-highest secrecy-blah, blah blah...' "Report to Tellun system, retrieve Ambassador Petri of Troyius, thenceforth to the inner planet Elas."

Troyius. The name pinged familiar in Elle's brain.

Kirk sank into the opposite chair glumly. "You recognize this, don't you?" he asked.

She handed the PADD back. "I do, yes. Where's the rest of the orders?"

"That's all we got. Some sort of cloak-and-dagger scheme, no planetary briefing, no governmental briefing, nothing." He set the PADD away. "We arrive at Troyius tomorrow, so anything you can remember..."

"Yes, sir. I'll try and remember it tonight," Elle promised.

"Thank you." He gave her a tired grin. "But never mind that." He handed her the novel. "Here's our next story."

"An Old-Fashioned Girl," Elle read. "This is the same person who wrote Little Women."

"Yes it is. I figured we needed something light after these last few missions."

Elle smiled. "Have you read it already?"

"No I haven't. I did read Little Women though, and Little Men."

Elle's smile widened. "You're such a romantic, captain."

-/\\-

That night, Elle sat cross-legged on her floor, Simba in her lap, and she sank into Vulcan-style meditation. She was searching for the memory of the planet Troyius. Episodes, books, and headcanons were examined, discarded, and categorized. She paused briefly, distracted by thoughts of Deanna _Troi_ , but she put those thoughts aside.

Troyius, Troyius... _Elaan of Troyius_. The spoiled, royal, brat whose tears were like hormone love potion. And there were Klingons in there, somewhere.

Elle groaned, startling herself out of meditation and Simba out of its nap. "Oh _no_ , the captain's not gonna like this."

He did not. "I have had it up to _here_ -" he gestured wildly at his eyebrows, "-with stuffy heads of state and politicians and _queens_ that try and brainwash you-" He chugged his coffee angrily.

Spock replaced the captain's empty mug with his own cup of tea.

Kirk chugged that too and made a face at the lack of caffeine.

"Your blood pressure, sir," Spock said serenely.

Elle hid a giggle in her waffles.

-/\\-

"Shall we, gentlemen?" Kirk asked, gesturing to the turbolift. "Elle, are you coming?"

"Not a chance in heckin'," Elle replied.

Kirk snorted. "All right, then, mind the bridge, Consultant Wilcott." He, Spock, and Scotty left.

Elle plopped into the center chair and did a full spin.

Uhura answered a comm. "Bridge to Captain Kirk, we're receiving a transmission from the planet Elas. They're demanding to know why we delay."

"Demand? Delay- what? Have them beamed aboard then," the captain replied, irritation plain in his voice.

"Aye, captain. Bridge to Transporter Room 2, beam the Ambassador aboard."

"Acknowledged."

A yeoman came onto the bridge and stopped in front of Elle. "You're not the captain," he said.

"I am your Evil Overlord," Elle said grandly.

The yeoman bowed. "All hail the magnanimous Evil Overlord."

Sulu rolled his eyes. "You carry on like that Dr. McCoy's gonna have you head-shrinked."

"Head-shrunk," Uhura, Queen of Linguistics, corrected.

"Head-shrinky-dinked," Elle added. "I can forge his signatu-"

"NO," chorused all the adults on the bridge.

Elle giggled and spun around in her chair.

-/\\-

Elle finished her classes for the day, had an excellent replicated mac'n'cheese, and went to her quarters. She showered, changed into pajamas, and cuddled up with Simba to watch a 22nd century remake of Cinderella.

There was a thunderous crash against her wall and someone started shouting.

Elle sprang upright, alarmed. Had someone gone crazy-

"Remove this creature from my sight!" a woman's voice shrieked.

Elle sank back onto the couch with a groan. Her quarters were directly next to those assigned to heads of state, ambassadors, and apparently, high-strung Dohlmans.

There was another crash of pottery against the shared wall.

Simba whimpered.

Elle got up, ventured from her quarters. Three guards in bright red and orange body armor stood outside the next door. They stepped forward, keeping her from approaching the door. Elle gave them a look. "Can you tell the Dohlman to stop throwing things at the wall? These quarters are not soundproofed."

They didn't even acknowledge her.

A moment later the door opened and another vase flew out, narrowly missing Elle's head, followed by Ambassador Petri from Troyius. Dohlman Elaan shrieked after him, " _and take your gifts!"_

Elle dodged a hastily thrown bundle of fabric. "Hey! Stop throwing things! Other people share these walls!"

The princess stopped, glared. "And what is this?" she hissed. "A child? Sent to mock me?"

Elle lifted her chin defiantly. "I am a member of this crew."

"You wear no uniform. Kneel before Us," the Dohlman demanded.

"I will not," Elle said. "You are a guest on this ship, under Federation sovereignty."

The captain and Mr. Spock came around the corner. His eyebrows went up at seeing the cluster of people in the hallway. "What's all this?" he asked.

Elle unashamedly went and hid behind Spock.

They watched Captain Kirk try and reason with both ambassador and princess.

"Perhaps," Spock started _sotto voce_ , "you might wish to spend the night in another location, _ax'nav_. I am aware of the human concept called a 'sleepover'?"

Elle sighed. "I think you're right." She slipped away before anyone could start throwing stuff again.

She and Simba spent the night with Lt. Uhura, and they did manicures and talked about Bantu folktales.

-/\\-

"Then make her listen, Ambassador. Use a different approach. Stop being so diplomatic. She respects strength. Go in strong."

Elle walked around the bend in the corridor just in time to see Kirk pat Petri on the shoulder and send him on his way. Kirk walked towards Elle, grabbed her arm, turned her around, and continued with her down the corridor. "You might want to give it a minute, sweetheart. Her Glory is throwing a fit. Again."

Elle sighed. "Why'd you have to put her right next to me?" she asked, only whining a little bit.

"Because those are the largest guest quarters," Kirk said, "which apparently aren't large enough."

"She needs a time out," Elle said. "Several time outs. When am I supposed to go back to my quarters?"

"Later," the captain said, unhelpfully.

"Should make her read An Old-Fashioned Girl," Elle said. "Maybe she'd learn something."

"Maybe," Kirk said thoughtfully.

Later turned out to be too late; it sounded like Elaan and Petri were shouting at each other again.

Elle stuffed her essentials into her backpack, added Simba to her hoodie pocket, and left her quarters by way of the vent. She made it to her bolt-hole and flopped flat on her back. "Peace and quiet," she said blissfully, and Simba cooed in agreement.

They spent the rest of the day and the whole night in the Jefferies Tube junction, curled up in a nest of blankets and pillows, watching old shows and eating snacks. Okay, Elle ate snacks, Simba got half a dried blackberry.

-/\\-

"Literally, the Klingons were less annoying this time around than the Dohlman," Elle said, moving back into her quarters two days later. "Literally."

Uhura laughed and helped Elle put back her pillows and her books. "It does happen," she agreed.


	80. Immune System's Got Ya Down

Something wasn't right. Elle put down her fork and surveyed the Mess Hall. It was too quiet. Instead of the cheerful bustle and chatter of crewmen going on or off shift, the crew spoke in subdued whispers or were silent.

Elle picked up her tray and plopped down with a group of yeomen-they knew everything. "What's going on?" she asked.

The two yeomen shared a glance. "There was a Code Gold this morning," Yeoman Maas said.

Elle's eyes widened. "What?" Code Gold was 'the captain in danger'. "What happened?"

"He's in Sickbay," Maas replied. 

This wasn't an episode. They were in clear Federation space, in between assignments, _nothing should've happened_. Elle picked up her tray and dumped it in the recycler. She had to know what was going on.

Sickbay's main ward was ghostly silent. Nurse Chapel came in response to the door sensor and frowned. "Health and Bio classes are canceled until further notice, Elle."

"What's wrong with the captain?" Elle asked bluntly.

Chapel studied Elle's face for a long moment before replying, "A relapse of Vegan choriomeningitis. He's in critical condition."

Elle's mouth went dry. "Is, what are, he's going to be okay, right?"

"If we can synthesize the cure in time. We don't carry it because it's so rare, but it will take time to make."

"But why'd he get sick?" Elle asked. "Is it just like shingles, or something?"

Chapel sighed. "After these last few missions, the kironide, the acceleration, and being infected by the Elasian tears-"

Elle hadn't known that. That crazy princess had got him? Whatever. Focus.

"-his immune system was severely depressed, and that's what gave it the opening to come back."

Elle nodded slowly. "Is it contagious? Can I see him? Can he have visitors?"

"It's not contagious, no, and let me ask Dr. McCoy."

Elle fidgeted anxiously till Chapel returned. "Yeah. Come on."

McCoy met them at the doorway of the captain's private room. "He's really out of it," he warned Elle. "You can see him for a couple of minutes."

"Okay."

He stepped aside to let her in. "Jim? You've got a visitor."

Kirk looked terrible, sweating and glassy-eyed from fever, but he still managed a smile. "Hey, kiddo."

"Hi." She moved forward and touched his shoulder. It radiated heat through the thin scrubs.

He blinked a long blink and frowned. "Aurelan? What're you doin' here? Where's Sam?"

Elle glanced at McCoy, worried.

He moved forward and put an arm around her shoulder. "She'll go look for him. Get some rest." He steered Elle out of the room. "Go on," he said kindly, though his eyes were worried. "Get to class. The captain will be fine."

"Okay." Elle gave him a hug and left Sickbay, a heavy weight in her gut.

By lunchtime, the captain's condition worsened. He'd slipped into a coma.

Life on the Enterprise seemed to slow even further with the news. She couldn't concentrate on anything and neither could her teachers. So classes were canceled indefinitely.

Elle puttered around the Rec Decks, challenging off-duty crewmen to random games of ping pong or space-age Mario Kart.

She glanced at the clock and froze. It was time for her literature class with the captain. But- she swallowed the lump in her throat. Cmdr. Samir was always available, or Sulu had offered... Then she got an idea and tucked her PADD under arm. Time to go back to Sickbay.

McCoy was in the main ward, consulting with M'Benga and another nurse. "-see if we can't up the dosage-" they broke off as Elle entered. "What's up?" he asked her.

She held up her PADD. "Would it help? If I read to him?"

McCoy smiled. "Actually that just might help. He's been awfully restless. What are you reading?"

"Treasure Island."

"Perfect." He ushered her into the room and gestured to the chair by the bedside. "You sit there and start reading."

Elle glanced at Kirk's twitching hands and cleared her throat. "Chapter Two, where we left off..." She focused on reading the best she could.

A few minutes later, McCoy patted her on the shoulder. "He's relaxing," he said quietly, "heading towards sleep. You just keep reading, darlin'."

Elle nodded and kept reading.

She read until she was hoarse and Kirk's brainwaves were staying firmly in the delta range. McCoy had disappeared (probably sedated into taking a nap thanks to Chapel), and it was late. Elle closed her eyes for a second, unwilling to leave him by himself.

The next think she knew, alarms were going off left and right and medical personnel were swarming. Elle could only watch in bleary-eyed horror as Kirk's body convulsed in the bed.

"-he's crashing, get me twenty cc's-"

"Toni, get her out-"

Nurse Lopez kindly but firmly propelled Elle out the door. "Stay."

Elle leaned against the opposite wall, hands shaking.

Finally, after hours (read as: forty minutes), the crisis was mostly over. McCoy came out, looking shattered. He raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" he rasped.

Elle shook her head, scared to ask.

He patted her shoulder. "He's stable now, and conscious. Do you feel like reading some more?"

"Yeah."

"Go on, then. I'll be in my office. Toni'll keep an eye on you both."

Elle slipped into the room. Coma-conscious was mostly unconscious, but he was awake-ish. "Hey, captain," she said, sitting down. "Chapter eleven..."

The next thing Elle knew, someone was shaking her shoulder. "Whuh?" She shot upright, startled. "Wh's wrong?"

Nurse Kim smiled at her. "It's morning, sweetie. 0900."

"Oh." Elle looked over at Kirk. He looked the same, white as paper except for the fever flush on his cheeks. She stifled a yawn and stood, cracking her neck. "Ow." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "We're gonna make it," she promised. "I'll see you later, cap." She shuffled out of Sickbay. If it was 0900, that meant they were eight hours closer to synthesizing a cure, and with all replicators going, including the ones meant for food-grade matter, that meant... that meant she was not good at math or advanced chemistry. Never mind.

She turned the corner and crashed into a wall of Science blue. Firm hands propped her up. "Elle?"

She glanced up at Spock sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm sleepy." She hastened to assure him, "Don't worry though, he's okay. No change since last night."

He blinked. "Are you experiencing thought transference?" he asked.

She frowned. "No... aren't you going to sickbay?"

"Yes."

"Well then," Elle said simply. "Night, er, morning, cmdr." She stepped around him. The biggest rule in the Star Trek universe is never get in between a Vulcan and his goal. He will definitely run you over.

-/\\-

Classes were still canceled, all non-essential tasks were on pause to minimize the risk of injuries or taking away medical personnel from the captain's care, and non-essential replicators were shut down to reroute power to give priority to medical replicators.

It was a very quiet rec deck.

Lt. Athende, one of Uhura's comm officers, waved Elle over with one of its tentacles. "Come watch cartoons with us, Elle," xe said.

Elle sat on the couch next to them, and promptly sank into their squishy side. "What are we watching?"

"Captain Proton Goes to the Tenth Dimension," Athende replied. "The Tenth Dimension is animation."

"Ah." Elle reached over the lieutenant to take a handful of popcorn. "I thought you couldn't eat plasticky kernels like this."

"I can't. It's bad for my internal lining," Athende replied, and lifted xer other arm on the other side. "Ensign Manard can, though she fell asleep two episodes ago."

"Nice." Elle took the bowl for herself. Ya snooze ya lose, you know.

Another lieutenant on gamma shift came and flopped on Elle's other side. "Ooh, Tenth Dimension. This one's a classic." She appropriated the popcorn.

Elle sighed. Ya snooze, ya lose.

-/\\-

:: _Enterprise Common Forums:: Priority Announcement::_

Sickbay reports the treatment for Vegan choriomeningitis has been successfully replicated, and will continue to be produced at the needed rate. Moping is now officially banned from common areas, you're depressing the newbies. Non-urgent tasks are still being deferred until the nurses have each gotten a full night's sleep.

_::End Priority Announcement::_

_::Enterprise Common Forums:: New Post::_

From the Desk of Head Nurse Chapel:

If any of you are fool enough to break a bone while we are still on Code Gold (looking at you, Engineering wingnuts), I will personally hypo you into next week.

_::End Post::_

Elle heaved a sigh of relief on seeing the updates. It was going to be okay.

-/\\-

"Hey, kiddo." The captain smiled at her.

"You look better," Elle said, giving him a smile.

He huffed a laugh and sunk his head into the squashy pillow. "You mean less like I got run over by a shuttle?"

"More like you got knocked down by a hoverbike," she agreed. She sat down in the chair next to his bed and cracked open her pilfered copy of Treasure Island.

He eyed the book, his eyes still glassy with fever.

"Spock borrowed it from your room," Elle said.

He huffed again. "Is it naptime?"

"Sir?"

He rubbed at his stubbly jaw with the hand not hooked up to an IV. "I remember, you were reading to me."

She shifted in her chair. "Well, if you want to take a nap, I can get out of here," she said. "I just thought you might be bored."

"Stay," Kirk said. "I'm terribly bored. No one will give me a PADD."

"Because you _need sleep!_ " McCoy hollered, from the open door.

"It's a _private room, go away!_ " Kirk hollered back, and immediately fell into a coughing fit.

"Okay, Captain Grumpypants," Bones said, coming in and adjusting his pillows to let the captain hack up a lung in a supported fashion. "Hush up and let Elle read to you about pirates, won't you?"

"Yes, _sir_ ," Kirk replied, his scathing tone completely ineffectual.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "If he gets too cranky on ya, Elle, you just hit that button. Captains make the worst patients."

She saluted. "Besides doctors," she added innocently.

McCoy tweaked the end of her braid. "Brat." He left.

The captain scowled and pulled his blanket up to his nose. "I'm tired of being sick."

"It's only been four days," Elle pointed out. "And this is the first time you've been awake enough to hold a conversation."

He shot her a sharp glance. "What chapter are we on?"

She held up the book. "Chapter twenty-seven."

He frowned. "We were barely on chapter two!"

"You've been sleeping a lot," Elle replied. "And it seemed to help you sleep."

His gaze caught on the dark circles under her eyes. "Elle..."

"Yes, captain?"

"Thank you," he said simply. He waved a hand. "So what's going on by chapter twenty-seven?"

She summarized the last few events and started reading.

Two chapters in, the captain fell into a doze. By the end of the next chapter, he was completely asleep.

Bones stuck his head in. "Nice," he whispered. "You get a lifetime supply of free candy for this. I'm putting a commendation in your file."

"I'm a civilian," she whispered back.

"Don't care." He patted her on the head and slipped back out.

Elle pulled out her datapad and started building the new wing of her Minecraft castle.

The captain stirred.

She picked up the book and kept reading aloud.

He subsided back into full sleep.

-/\\-

It was a long two weeks before the captain was cleared for full duty. Elle had read him Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Treasure Island again during his many, varied, naps.

When he made his first appearance in the Rec Deck after shift, the crew threw an impromptu party. Elle presented him with the clay tribble she'd made, and he was forced to graciously accept it.

Elle took Dr. McCoy up on his offer of endless candy.

Life was good.

-/\\-

Star Fleet magnanimously extended an easy mission to the Enterprise: deliver this and that to so and so asylum.

"Seriously? They named this colony Elba Two, and then sent people here, who think they're next great Napoleon?" Elle asked. "Isn't that literally asking for trouble?"

"Somebody in the Justice Department thinks they're funny," Kirk said dryly. "But Captain Garth of Izar, before his breakdown, was a truly inspired individual. His tactics and negotiation strategies are still required reading at the Academy, and they were the inspiration for what won us the peace at Axanar."

Elle frowned. "Isn't that one of your medals? Weren't you the one that negotiated the peace treaty?"

The tops of his ears went pink. "Yes."

"Nice. Your mission's required reading, by the way."

He tugged at his collar, his cheeks reddening. "You're kidding."

"Nope." She scrolled down the orders. "So this treatment will cure mental illness?"

"We hope."

Elle nodded slowly. "How does it work?"

The captain grimaced. "I'm afraid it went over my head. You'll have to ask Bones."

"Hm." She zoomed in on Captain Garth. "Wait a second... Elba... does it have a super-concentrated shield over it?"

He eyed her warily. "Yes... don't tell me this is an episode."

"I think it's an episode." Elle made a face. "It's just, these episodes were really weird, and I didn't watch too many of the ones from season three more than once, but it does kind of sound familiar."

"All right," Kirk said, "what are we dealing with?"

Elle dropped her face into her hands, trying to remember. _Think, think, think, an asylum_... "Whom the gods destroy, they first make mad," she said aloud.

"Sophocles, isn't that?" Kirk asked.

"The name of the episode," Elle told him.

"Ah. Apt."

"Yeah." She concentrated. "All I got... is that at some point he gets out and he shapeshifts?" Elle shrugged helplessly.

Kirk sighed. "All right. It's safe to assume he's already escaped then." He stood up. "Security chief to the briefing room."

"If I think of anything else I'll comm," Elle told him.

He pressed a hand to her hair. "Thank you, Elle."

-/\\-

They entered planetary orbit above Elba Two, sent down three teams of security to sweep and secure the facility, and found the inmates out and about, Dr. Cory and his staff unconscious in one of the storerooms, and the shields an hour away from vaporizing the entire facility.

Wide-beam phasers set on high stun solved most of the problems.

By the time Elle heard all this, Dr. McCoy was already beaming down the cases of medicine.

"Well that was anti-climactic," Elle decided.

"Thanks to Chief Giotto's men," Kirk said.

"True. You're not going down, captain?"

"No. I think it's best that you don't meet your heroes."

Elle leaned against his arm. "Well, I met my heroes and they're better than I thought, so..."

Kirk smiled and pressed a kiss to her hair. "Flatterer."

He did end up going down to Elba Two to have dinner with the governor and his staff, who were desperate for human interaction.


	81. This Native Habitat

The lift door 'hsshh'ed' open and Elle stepped onto the bridge.

"-absolutely not," Kirk said.

"You are the youngest captain in the Fleet, the flagship nonetheless, and you have the most fascinating missions to boot. This kind of positive PR writes itself, captain, and Star Fleet needs it."

"Then let it write itself," Kirk retorted. "There's no need for a documentary crew to follow working crewmembers around. We can do an interview over subspace or at our next starbase, we've done it before."

"We need something different," the admiral insisted. "People need to see that the gallant starship officers are humans, too."

Kirk scowled. 

Elle sidled over to Spock, outside the camera range. "What's going on?" she whispered.

"Admiral Myers of Public Relations is attempting to convince the captain to allow a documentary crew film on the Enterprise," Spock murmured.

Elle blinked. "A documentary... like The Office?"

Spock rolled his eyes. "An actual production, documenting the roles of different crewmen and their respective experiences."

Elle grimaced. "Sounds like a bad idea."

"This is a bad idea," Kirk insisted. "Taking a group of untrained civilians on an active mission where they're going to be actively sticking their noses into our business endangers not only them but my own people."

"Don't you _have_ a civilian mission consultant?" Admiral Myers asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That is different, not to mention classified," Kirk replied sharply.

"Classified? Aren't you testing civilian presence aboard starships for future implementation with families? That's a perfect bit."

The captain pressed his lips together tightly.

Admiral Myers looked amused. "The decision has already been made, captain. Don't worry. They've been trained in Fleet protocol and you will be able to limit their movements and exposure to the ship. They know what Star Fleet expects of them, captain."

"Understood," Kirk said, tone clipped.

"Excellent. You can rendezvous with them on Starbase 3. Details are in the comm packet." The admiral signed off.

Kirk sighed heavily and scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked over at Elle and gave her a small smile. "So what brings you to the bridge?" he asked.

"I just came up to say hi," Elle replied. "You guys are busy though, so I'll just-"

"No, hold on, stay a minute," Kirk reached out a hand. "What do you think of this whole thing?"

Elle grimaced. "I don't know. This wasn't an episode, though I wish it had been, that'd be hilarious." She cleared her throat. "Though, ahem, I'm sure it's going to be stressful in real life."

"Much more stressful than Klingons," Chekov agreed. "You can't shoot the press."

Everyone snickered.

-/\\-

"Elle to Transporter Room 2."

Elle almost dropped her beaker. "They're here! Do I look okay?"

"I highly doubt they're going to come in filming," Ensign Mayarti said.

"But do I look okay?" Elle pressed, smoothing her blouse.

"You look fine. Cute, even, for standards of human."

"Okay, good, thank you, gotta go!" Elle bolted from the science lab.

She arrived in the transporter room in time to run her fingers through her hair and hide behind Kirk and Spock, just as the first of the documentary crew beamed aboard. One was clearly an assistant, with a bag full of PADDs and another bag full of equipment. The other was the cameraman, carrying a handheld camera over his shoulder and a visor readout over one eye.

Camera guy stepped down, gave a genial, "Hey," to the officers, and turned back to the dais, his camera poised and ready.

Kirk and Spock exchanged glances of dread and both officers put on their game faces.

A second later, the rest of the film crew beamed aboard. One of the men had a mic clipped to his shirt, and another man was holding a boom mic. The third was holding more equipment. The one with the mic shirt began to speak. "As you can see, we've just transported aboard Star Fleet's most famous vessel, the starship Enterprise. For the next few days we'll be getting the inside story of the crew and their daily lives. Speaking of," the man stepped off the dais and headed for Captain Kirk.

The camera man and the boom mic swiveled appropriately.

"The famous captain himself, James T. Kirk," the interviewer said, holding out a hand.

Kirk smiled charmingly and shook hands with him. "Welcome aboard," he said.

"Thank you captain." The three of them swiveled again. "And this is Mr. Spock, First Officer and Chief Science Officer." The man had enough sense not to offer his hand.

"Live long and prosper," Spock intoned, in his most Vulcan of Vulcan intonations.

He swiveled again to Elle, and there he faltered. "Who are you?" He raised a hand. "Cut, cut, hold on everybody, who are you?"

Elle blushed fiercely, her ears burning. "Elle Wilcott, civilian."

"Civilian?" The doc crew shared a glance. "What are you, my briefing only said anything about a mission consultant, not, not a _kid_."

Kirk released a slow, measured breath, the kind that meant photon torpedo barrages were in the near future. "Admiral Myers didn't mention that we're testing a civilian presence on starships in hopes of having families join working officers onboard?"

"No..." The man frowned down at Elle. "So what do you do?"

"School," Elle replied.

"Ah. That's gonna require some rewriting. Okay, we'll get on that tonight. In the meantime, you can stay in the shots, till we get your interview." The man shook his head briefly to clear it, and turned to the captain. "Sorry for the cold open, we didn't want to miss the beam-in. My name's Ryan. Ryan Daniels. This is my team, that's Oscar, Mike, Sam, Atesh. Atesh is my AD, he's the one that really runs the show, haha. Oscar and Mike are camera and mic, respectively, and yes, we've heard all the jokes. Sam is their assistant, so he gets to carry all the heavy stuff."

"Gentlemen," Kirk said, nodding. "If you'll come this way, I'll show you to your quarters and we can discuss your requirements for filming."

"Thank you, captain."

Spock went back to the bridge. Elle contemplated going back to science class, but Kirk gave her a look that read, " _Don't leave me alone with these psychos_." Elle joined them in the lift.

"How old are you, kid?" Ryan asked her.

"Almost fifteen," Elle said.

"How long you been here?"

"Almost two years."

"You like it?"

"Yes."

"Good, good." Ryan turned to his AD. "Did you get all that?"

"Yup." Atesh waved a PADD.

They appreciated their guest quarters and set up to film the surroundings. Kirk pulled Elle aside. "I think you make them nervous," he whispered. "How do you feel about tailing them while they're here?"

Elle grinned. "That'd be hilarious," she whispered back.

"Good. That's your mission, then."

"I can do zat," Elle whispered, and giggled to herself.

Kirk gave her an odd look. "I don't know why you keep saying that."

"It's an inside joke," Elle told him.

"Quiet, please," Atesh told them, as Ryan started his spiel about 'guest quarters on the infamous Enterprise.'

From there, the captain took them on an abbreviated tour of the Enterprise, sans recording equipment. "Apologies, gentlemen, but operational security requires such measures," he said, managing to sound completely unapologetic.

"No problem, we've got good memories," Ryan said, waving a hand. "Can we mic you for sound?"

Mike moved in and clipped a microphone to the captain's collar before he could agree.

"...sure," Kirk said.

"Got that?" Ryan asked.

Mike gave him a thumbs-up.

"Excellent." He pointed at Elle. "You, don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Nope," Elle said, smiling.

He sighed. "Okay. Captain, if you would?"

It only took an hour, and they ended back at the guest quarters. "I have to get back to the bridge," the captain said, unclipping the mic from his shirt, "but Miss Wilcott is available to act as your liason and guide. Have a look around the main rec deck, get something to eat, et cetera. Please forward Mr. Spock and myself your planned itinerary for interviews, shadow sessions, and so on. I'll remind you we hold veto on any of your plans."

"Thank you, captain, we'll get that to you by end of today," Ryan replied, nodding.

Kirk nodded sharply and made his escape.

Elle gave the civilians her best company smile. "Main rec deck, gentlemen? Today's dinner special is chicken teriyaki, the good kind, not the gross kind."

"What's the gross kind?" Oscar asked, as they followed her down the hall.

Elle made a face. "The kind that comes in little balls. These are the split chicken breasts."

"Aren't they all synthesized?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah, but it just tastes better," Elle replied. "And our chief of recreation, Lt. Tanzer, makes the teriyaki glaze from scratch."

Atesh took notes. "Does your chief of rec usually double as a chef?"

"No, we have actual crew that take KP duty, but he got his recipe from his mother's family on Earth, and the crew voted on whose was better."

"Fascinating," Atesh said. "What else does the crew vote on?"

"Which ice cream flavors to keep in rotation. Which fruits count as dessert." Elle pointed out one of the buffet signs. "Jicama is a side dish, not a dessert."

"Is this buffet up all the time?" Ryan asked.

"Nope. Just during the three major meal rushes, and then after Beta shift lets out, which is Last Supper."

The Anglo-christian-oriented ones shared a glance. "You're kidding, right?" Oscar asked.

Elle stifled a giggle. "Ever since we discovered the neo-Romans, no, I'm really not."

"The neo-Romans... that was the diaspora colony, yes?"

"Uh-huh."

They grabbed their food and Elle led them to a good people-watching spot. "From here you can watch the game."

"The basketball game?"

"Yeah. Or the ping-pong tournament." Elle ate her food and listened to them mutter furiously about 'interviewing schedules' and 'lab setups.'

"Miss Wilcott, do you know which labs are approved for civilian access?" Atesh asked.

"You'd have to ask Mr. Spock," Elle replied.

He made a note.

"Is there a place to set up for individual interviews?" Oscar asked. "A secondary conference room, an empty office out of the way?"

"There's a few," Elle said. "Put it on the list and Spock will let you know."

Ryan tilted his head and looked at her. "So you're not really a liason," he said.

Elle gave him a smile. "I'm telling you who has the information you need," she said. "I'm a minor, I can't give you access to anything."

"Good point," Ryan said. "Whose idea was it to put you on a starship?"

"Star Fleet's," Elle replied, deadpan.

"Where are your parents?"

She blinked at him and took a giant bite of rice, chewing pointedly.

"Right," he said. "We'll just wait for the official interview."

They finished eating and Lt. Harb Tanzer approached. "Can I help you gentlemen?" he asked, his smile placid but his eyes sharp.

"Can we film in here, just a general pan, pick up some background footage?" Ryan asked.

"If you're discreet, then sure," Harb replied. "I'll help you set up."

Elle played Minecraft while they filmed forty whole minutes of evening rec deck activity.

"And here we have the evening population of the starship's crew in their native habitat," Oscar said, slowly zooming in on a group of crewmen playing fizzbin. "They seem to have formed complex game rituals to stave off the boredom of daily routine..."

"Knock it off," Ryan groused. "These are just filler shots, I want the native background audio."

Elle hid a snicker in her sleeve. "Well, I'm going to bed," she said, closing her game console. "What time do you start tomorrow?"

"If our itinerary gets approved, 0600 tomorrow, an interview with Captain Kirk," Atesh said.

Elle grimaced. "I'm definitely going to bed then." She left them in Harb's capable hands.

-/\\-

Elle got an alert at 0530. 'Doc itinerary approved, meet me 0600 conf room E deck 7, bring your snacks - JTK'

"Aye, aye, cap." She finished lacing her boots and stuffed her sweater pockets full of snack bars and protein cubes.

A quick breakfast, and she was at the right conference room on deck 7, just as the captain himself rolled up, immaculately dressed, hair styled to captainly perfection, his cheekbones highlighted like an Iowan summer morning. He glowed with health and perfection. "Good morning," he said, giving Elle a smile.

"You are a beautiful captain who don't need no man," Elle told him tiredly. "Go glow at the camera."

He laughed. "Not a morning person, kiddo?"

She lifted her full cup of coffee and scowled. "No."

The documentary crew was appropriately stunned by Captain Kirk at 100% Charming. They framed the chair in front of a small potted plant and a computer monitor with a nebula on it. "If you'd just sit there, captain, and we'll get a sound check."

Mike set up the microphone, checked it, he and Oscar synced their devices, and he gave Ryan a thumbs-up.

Elle sat in the remaining chair off-screen and sipped her coffee.

Ryan sat next to the camera and gave Captain Kirk a smile. "And here we are with the commanding officer of the ship, the youngest person to make captain in Star Fleet history, Captain James T. Kirk. What made you want to join Star Fleet, captain?"

"I wanted to explore the galaxy and discover new planets and new civilizations," Kirk replied. "My father and my grandfather were both Star Fleet, and as I got older, I knew that was what I wanted to do."

"Why the Enterprise?"

Kirk laughed. "Why not? I was offered the position by now-Commodore Pike, and I accepted. She's a beautiful lady, our Enterprise."

"True, very true. What is it like, to captain a starship?"

The captain's smile morphed into something small, his expression serious. "It's an incredible responsibility," he said. "Most days, it's an incredible joy. I couldn't ask for a better crew or a better ship, but it's one thing to know that you have the support of over four-hundred people, and another to know you are responsible for every single one of those lives."

"As a starship captain, you're very often in situations where you have many more lives to deal with," Ryan said. "How do you handle it?"

Kirk wrinkled his nose. "With dignity, I hope," he joked, and then sobered. "It's easy to get into the mindset of numbers, in the case of casualties or rescue efforts, missions gone wrong or skirmishes on the borders of disputed territories, weighing this many lives against that many lives, but each life counts. Each loss is mourned, whether of my crew or not. Out here, it's probable we will be the first aliens a civilization has ever seen, or the first they've seen with peaceful intentions. The Enterprise, we represent Star Fleet, we represent the Federation's ideals, and we do the best we can. When we're successful in our missions, it is because each of my crewmembers gives a hundred percent of their talent and their perseverance, which allows me to make the decisions I make and trust in my crew to back me up. I would never ask something of my crew that I would never do myself, and they know that. So when we pull off the impossible..." He smiled and shrugged. "What can I say?"

"What can you say, indeed?" Ryan asked, impressed against his will. "You are very aware of the impact you can make."

"I have to be," the captain said simply. "So does each captain out here on the frontiers."

"What's your favorite part about being captain?" Ryan asked.

It went on like that for a while, and Ryan guided Kirk into talking abut amusing anecdotes, "the time someone left coffee in a cubbyhole and stank out an entire section", so on.

"What would you tell someone thinking of joining Star Fleet?" Ryan asked, as the final question.

Kirk tilted his head, thought about it. "Make sure of your motivation," he said. "If you can't find joy in the thought of discovering new worlds and new civilizations, or even in the thought of learning to love whoever you'll be roommates with as a junior ensign, then think long and hard about it. No molecule in this universe is the same. That's what it's all about." He smiled again.

"Very Vulcan of you, captain," Ryan said.

Kirk's smile turned into a grin. "Considering I have a Vulcan first officer, it's not very surprising, is it?"

"Not at all. Thank you for your time, captain." Ryan held up a hand. "Cut. All right, thank you captain, we'll let you get on with your day. If you could send Commander Spock down?"

"Of course, Mr. Daniels," Kirk said courteously. He stole Elle's coffee on the way out. "S'bad for you, kiddo."

"Hey!"


	82. How Dare You Mock This Documentary?

The officer's interviews proceeded with a mixture of pathos and hilarity.

"Why serve on a mostly-human ship, commander?" was Ryan's first question to Spock.

Spock was not impressed. "Why would I not?" he asked in reply.

Ryan moved on. "As first officer and science officer, what are your primary duties?"

"To give you a complete list of duties pertaining to both departments would take thirty-four minutes, fifteen seconds," Spock replied. "Suffice to say, as first officer I facilitate the captain's decisions, and as science officer, I oversee the science department."

"What projects have you got going on currently, then?" Ryan asked.

Spock lifted one eyebrow. "I personally am overseeing seven different projects in computer science and starcharting. The Enterprise has thirty-seven different laboratories, ranging from biology to theoretical physics, and as I do not micromanage my scientists, I could not say with any accuracy which projects are currently on-going at-" he made a point of checking the chrono, "-0813 in the morning."

Elle stifled a hysterical giggle into her chai latte.

Spock's expression softened as he met her gaze.

Ryan cleared his throat. "What is your favorite part about this job?" he asked.

Another eyebrow lift. "Vulcans do not play favorites," he said, and relented. "Though I would say the most satisfactory part of this job is the discovery of new planets, civilizations, phenomena, or worldviews. It is most, fascinating."

Elle almost choked, trying to keep silent.

Oscar turned to give her a Look.

Ryan cleared his throat. "And how do you like serving under Captain Kirk?"

"Captain Kirk is a most satisfactory commander," Spock replied promptly. "I have no complaints."

"High praise, from a Vulcan," Ryan said.

"Indeed. Our language does not go to emotional extremes."

Ryan stuck to asking questions about science, which Spock answered. He was sweating by the time Spock left. "Does that guy ever open up?" he asked, wiping his brow with a colorful bandana.

Elle thought about all their quiet times in the labs, his steadfast nightmare-watch, and their study of Vulcan language, and smiled. "Just wait until you meet Dr. McCoy."

Ryan sighed.

Bones came in, looking both grumpy and professional as usual with his blue lab coat on. "Well, let's get this over with," he said, plopping down in the chair. "I've got a scheduled patient in an hour and I need time to review his chart."

"Can I ask-"

"No."

Elle snorted.

"Dr. McCoy, you're a surgeon, physician, psychologist, and a renowned exobiologist," Ryan said. "Do you find this overqualifies you to be the chief medical officer of a primarily human crew?"

Oh. Oh _no_. Elle cringed in expectation of the oncoming rant.

Dr. McCoy did not disappoint, his blue eyes blazing in indignation. "Over-qualified? _Over-qualified_?! Who set up your list of questions, I'll scalp 'em and see how over-qualified they find me- what kinda fool question is that? I'm the Chief Medical officer in charge of four-hundred thirty crew subject to stress and disease from all corners of the galaxy! When do I _not_ use any of those hats, is the real question!"

"Well, when?" Ryan asked, who clearly had a death wish.

"To date, never," McCoy retorted. "Every day brings new challenges not only in the medical field but in exobiology."

"So your department comes under Mr. Spock's?"

"Nominally," McCoy said grudgingly.

"Is it hard, keeping up with the ailments of four-hundred people?"

"Not hard, no," McCoy replied. "I have an excellent staff of doctors and nurses, and our crew is one of the highest-rated in terms of general health and wellbeing."

"This ship is also subject to the strangest and most dangerous missions," Ryan said.

"That's why we insist on keeping our people healthy," McCoy said, his tone scathing. "I'm not allowing anyone to go do their jobs with foggy brains or depressed immune systems."

"How do you do that?" Ryan asked.

"It starts with a balanced diet and necessary exercise, as well as appropriate and engaging recreation," Bones said, slipping into his teacher-doctor mode. "Recreation is a huge part of a starship's community, encompassing off-duty hours as well as interpersonal relationships. That leads into psychology, each person's individual sense of fulfillment, contentment, and forward motivation."

"What else does your job entail?"

McCoy huffed. "I'm a doctor, first and foremost, which means that whoever we come across in space, if they're in need of a doctor, we're going to offer our help. Our medical staff is constantly taking continuing education and training to keep up with advances in medicine, especially exobiology and those species that are newer to the Federation, in case we encounter them. One day we could be treating a case of athlete's foot, the next we could be dealing with a completely new strain of bacteria or viral infection. We could be facing a child or an adult colonist, or a member of a species we have absolutely no medical information on. Those in psychology also work with Linguistics and Communication in the case of first contacts to decipher and interpret language, body kinesthetics, and underlying worldviews that might make the difference between peace or violence."

Elle resisted the urge to applaud.

Scotty's interview was a mixture of hard brogue and technobabble, Chief Giotto's was terse and to the point, and Lt. Uhura's was also full of technobabble and psychology.

"I'm starting to get the feeling everyone on this ship is a genius," Ryan said, leaning back in his chair and stretching.

Elle snorted. "How else do you get postings on a starship?"

-/\\-

"Here we are, in the heart of the Enterprise's scientific laboratories, where dozens of skilled scientists work on the leading edge of science and technology..." Ryan trailed off as he and the camera turned to face a console covered in sticky notes and small plastic action figures. "What is this."

Elle picked up the nearest action figure. "Space Naruto, I think," she said, examining the tiny modeled spiky hairdo.

"Is this allowed?" Ryan asked, aghast.

Elle read over the sticky notes. They were gibberish. "Programmers. They're a special breed." She picked up the rubber duck off the floor and set it upright in the center of the console. "Just cut past this." She made all the other action figures bow to the rubber duck. "It's fine."

The documentary crew were all staring at her.

"Look," Elle said tiredly, "you try rewriting an alien programming system based on musical tones in ten days and see how you fare."

"Good point," Ryan said. "Anyway. Rolling?"

"Rolling," Oscar confirmed.

"The Enterprise hosts many labs, and today we are privileged to be spending some time in one of the astrophysics modules. Follow me." Ryan walked towards Astrophysics Lab 2, the one Spock privately thought of as his children.

The camera and mic followed Ryan, and Sam-the-assistant followed the camera, and Elle followed Sam. By the time they all got into the lab, got the camera at the best angle to catch all the action, the inhabitants of Astrophysics Lab 2 were back to their usual routine.

Which was... sit at a console, flick holographic readouts around, swap consoles, rinse, repeat.

"Is this all they do all day?" Oscar asked Elle in a whisper, angling his head away from the boom mic.

Elle nodded. "Unless we're near a supernova or something."

"Can we do that?" Atesh whispered.

"No," Elle said. "You missed it, we already did that."

"Can we recreate it?" Atesh asked hopefully.

Elle sighed. "Ask about entropy in the Lesser Magellanic," she said.

Ryan angled his head sharply. "What?"

"Ask about our mission regarding entropy readings in the Lesser Magellanic," she repeated. "It was one of our latest scientific breakthroughs. Just do it."

Ryan cleared his throat and approached the nearest crewman. "Excuse me, Ryan Daniels with the documentary crew. Your name, lt?"

"Selina Kapoor," the lieutenant replied. "What can I do for you?"

"I was told your team was leading during the mission regarding entropy readings in the Lesser..."

"Magellanic, yes sir," Lt. Kapoor said, eyes lighting up. "We were testing the mass inversion drive, I'm sure you've heard of it-"

"Yes, it made the news-"

"-And we were getting some interesting results. Mayri, can you pull up the readings from the inversion drive, thanks. And of course, being the Enterprise, we had to investigate-" And they were off.

Elle grinned and patted herself on the back.

-/\\-

"This feels like fishing," Elle said, as Ryan and co set their team up in a good spot in the main Rec Deck.

"That's because it is," Ryan said, and set out a bowl of freshly-replicated donuts. "And here's the bait."

"You know your stuff," Elle said, amused.

"Hey, like I told Captain Kirk, this isn't our first Star Fleet gig." Ryan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, a patient fisherman personified.

Elle threw herself into a beanbag and closed her eyes for a nap.

When she woke up, a lieutenant had taken the bait. He'd gone for a maple bacon bar, and was being mic'd for sound.

"Your name and rank?" Ryan asked.

"Sanderson, Lt JG, ops," Sanderson replied.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a runner, sir," Sanderson replied. "I run cables through the infrastructure of the ship."

"Do you like your job?"

"Yes, sir. I have a good team, good supervisor." Sanderson fidgeted.

"Can you tell us about your greatest adventure as a cable-runner?" Ryan prompted, offering him another maple-bacon donut.

Sanderson took the offer. "Well, sir, there was the time we were taken over by a fearmongering alien. The alien itself triggered each person's greatest fear, in order to manipulate them for its own ends. My greatest fear was being trapped in the Jefferies Tubes, so in my altered state I covered myself in peanut butter. I don't know why I thought that would work, I should've gone for oil. Much more lubricating on the uniform."

Ryan stared. "...you, you realize we fact-check these interviews, right? You can't just lie to the camera?" he asked, distressed.

"He's not lying," Elle piped up. "We had to sterilize the whole section. Three people have nut allergies."

Ryan's eyebrows went up. "Ookay."

Sanderson took a bite of donut, his green eyes painfully earnest.

"And after that mission?" Ryan asked.

"Well, everybody went to counseling," Sanderson replied. "And I don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches anymore. Sir."

Ryan sighed. "Thank you for your time, lieutenant. What are you going to do on your night off?"

"Water polo," Sanderson said. "We're competing against Constellation next starbase rotation."

Ryan waved a hand. "Dismissed."

Sanderson took his donut and fled.

The yellow alert chimed, soft and gentle, barely heard over the racket of the rec deck on full swing.

"What was that?" Ryan asked, turning to look at Elle, as did the camera.

She reached out to the tabletop, brought up the computer interface, and accessed the alert. "It's fine," she said. "Don't worry about it, Geology just lost their rocks." She gave them a hard look. "Don't put any strange rocks in your pockets."

"Okay."

Elle glared at them. "I'm serious. Do _not_ put anything in your pockets that's not yours. In Star Fleet pockets are a privilege, not a right."

"You have pockets," Sam pointed out.

She scowled. "I have security training. Do not. Pick up. Strange Items."

"Yes ma'am."

Oscar panned over to the opposite side of the room. "Is that a jazz band?"

"Yup."

-/\\-

"And what does IT on the Enterprise consist of?"

"Well, most days it consists of datapad maintenance, and on the fun days, upgrading system algorithms to-"

There was an almighty crash behind the lieutenant commander as the Rube Goldberg Club lost control of their domino tower. "TIMBERRRRRR," one of them yelled, ducking and covering as the dominos effected all over the place, knocking over support struts and delicately balanced plastic cups.

Elle shrieked as the flood of ping-pong balls came directly at the documentary crew and her beanbag.

Long story short, Oscar and his camera went down sideways.

"Are they like this all the time?" Ryan asked, off-screen.

-/\\-

After lunch, Elle gave up all pretense of liaising with the documentary crew. She settled herself with Simba in her lap, a bowl of chips, and was completely ready to watch the fun.

Oscar, during a break, wandered over to pet the tribble. He offered the tribble a chip but Elle smacked his hand away.

"Don't feed the tribble," she ordered.

"What? Why not? Are potatoes poisonous to it?" he asked, alarmed.

"No," Elle said. "If you overfeed it, it has a litter of tribblets. And then they breed exponentially."

Oscar's eyes widened. "Space rabbits," he said.

"Yup."

-/\\-

"-typical day, we receive thirty to forty requests for specialized or customized items the main replicators aren't programmed to handle," Lt. Commander Chanax was saying.

Scotty came up. "Excuse me, gentlemen, I need to steal away our mission consultant. Elle?"

"Keep rolling," Ryan murmured.

Elle ignored the camera and mic as they swung towards her. "What's up?"

"We need ye to go into the crawlways, lass, turns out Geology's missing rocks were some sort of carapaced critter in hibernation. You're the only one who can slide through this crawlspaces with any speed, if you wouldn't mind."

Elle sighed. "Why did they build the crawlspaces so small anyway?"

"Great Bird only knows, lass."

She bolted the last bite of sandwich and sighed. "All right, let's go."

"Wait!" Ryan said. "Can you take a camera with you?"

"Mr. Daniels, there's sensitive equipment in those crawlspaces, I willnae have a camera bumpin' along in there," Scotty protested.

Sam pulled a tiny camera out of the jumble of equipment. "What about something strapped to her forehead?"

Elle stared at the single lens. "You want me to wear a GoPro?"

Sam held it out. "Would this work, Mr. Scott? We could blur out everything on the sides, we just need shots of the actual capture."

Scotty sighed. "What do you say lass?"

"Sure," Elle said dryly.

So that's how she found herself shuffling through crawlspaces, a small camera mounted on her forehead like a Klingon pimple. "It's making my head hurt," she said. "Scotty, where am I even going?"

"All the way down t'the end, and to the left," Scotty said.

Spock's voice came in on her earpiece. "It seems to be seeking heat sources," he said. "It's highly probable it will head for engineering."

"I'm going to seal off the secondary hull," Scotty said hastily. "I am not havin' another tribble-pocalypse."

Elle sniggered. "Good idea. Can you seal this section off so it won't go anywhere else?"

"Doing so," Spock replied.

There was a series of faraway thunks as bulkheads and hatches dropped and sealed.

Elle crawled around a junction and saw a metamorphic rock scuttling around the next corner. "Oh, I just saw it," she breathed. "Coming up on it."

"Make sure your phaser's on stun," one of the geology people told her. "Don't hurt it."

"No duh," Elle whispered, and sped up.

She cornered it against a hatch cover. "Easy, little rock," she soothed. "Easy, little guy, I'm not gonna hurtcha."

It stared at her, two glowing eyes under a rocky carapace. It looked like a crusty version of an armadillo without the little snout.

She stared at it. "Now what?" she whispered. "I don't wanna just stun it. What if it makes it angry?"

"If you can project a feeling of calm, you may be able to befriend it," Spock said.

"She's not telepathic enough for that," Scotty said. "Is she?"

Elle reached out to the rock. "If I get my fingers bitten off, Bones can reattach them right? Here, rocky rocky."

"Do _not_ -" Spock started, alarmed.

Elle showed the rock her loosely curled fingers, let it examine her hand. "Just like a little feral cat," she whispered softly, "nice and slow... we're gonna be friends, right?"

The rock let out a scraping sound and scuttled towards her at full speed.

She let out a yelp as it hit her right in the stomach.

"Elle! Medical team to Jefferies Tube 34-B!"

"Elle! What's going on!"

Elle stared in amazement as the rocky armadillo slid right into her hoodie and stayed there. "Uhhh, I caught it," she said. "I think."

"Are you all right?" Scotty demanded.

"I'm fine. It crawled into my hoodie." She couldn't move, terrified to jostle it and find out if it had teeth.

"Fascinating," Spock murmured. "Remain calm, and proceed to the nearest exit."

"No duh," Elle said again, and slowly tilted forward again on her hands and knees. The creature, nestled in her hoodie, didn't protest. She started crawling.

Spock, Scotty, Kirk, the documentary crew, and half the Geology Lab were waiting for her when she dropped out of the crawlspace. "Where is it?" the head geologist asked.

Elle carefully slid her hoodie off, keeping the creature wrapped up in the warm fleece. "Here you go."

"Fascinating," Spock said again.

Kirk was doing his level best not to laugh. "Good work, Miss Wilcott," he said formally.

Elle gave him a two-fingered salute. "Thank you, captain." She suppressed a shiver. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find another sweater."

"That's it?" Ryan asked. "An alien creature got loose aboard the Enterprise and that's it?"

"Well unless it starts spitting acid or we discover a deadly chemical compound it emits, then yes," Kirk said. "Welcome to Tuesday on the Enterprise."

-/\\-

The observation deck.

"Here, you feel the enormity of what Star Fleet officers face every day. The emptiness of space, and the vastness of the galaxy..."

Commander Stabby hoovered quietly around the corner, jingling to itself as it scooted under chairs in search of crumbs.

Ryan stopped monologuing. "Is that... a vacuum. With a knife?"

Elle popped her gum. "Yeeeup."

"Why?"

"Why not?" she retorted.

Oscar panned to catch Commander Stabby in pursuit of a ball of Caitian hair-tangles. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"It's after hours, no one's going to be in here," Elle said. "And in the words of Captain Kirk, if you don't have the situational awareness to get out of the way of a bright orange droid with bells strapped to it, you deserve to get shanked in the ankle."

Commander Stabby passed her and beeped a hello. It swept away out of sight.

-/\\-

"Well, that was the most interesting week I think we've ever had," Ryan said, shaking hands with Captain Kirk. "Thank you, captain, for this enlightening look at the Enterprise's inner workings."

"I look forward to seeing the finished project," Kirk said politely.

As the documentary crew beamed away to their connecting transport, everyone in the transporter room heaved a sigh of relief.

Elle leaned into Kirk's side. "That was exhausting. I hate civilians."

"You are a civilian," he reminded her and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for liaising with them."

"Had to," Elle said. "The amount of people who fell for the 'free donuts' trick was embarrassing."

Kirk snorted. "Maybe we'll run a workshop. How to resist interrogations providing free pastries."

"I do not think it would be successful," Spock said, deadpan.


	83. Don't Be Racist

"The planet Ariannus," Spock said. "A key planet as a transfer point on regular space commercial lanes. It is currently being attacked by a bacterial infection that threatens to render it lifeless. The Enterprise has been asked to decontaminate the planet."

Elle frowned. "How are we going to decontaminate the entire planet?"

"There is a compound that kills this certain bacteria. Under a certain number of parts per million, it is safe for other lifeforms. When we dropped off the documentary crew, we picked up the chemical compound that will decontaminate the planet. The Enterprise will drop down into the atmosphere and release the compound through the Bussard ramscoops. In conjunction with Ariannus' network of weather satellites, they will be spread via air currents and rain to the entire planet."

"Cool," Elle said.

"Indeed." Spock pulled up a diagram of weather satellites. "We will be focusing on weather systems, today."

Three hours away from Ariannus, the ship dropped out of warp for three minutes before resuming course. Elle felt the shift in engine vibrations, but nothing else happened, and no alerts started blaring, so she finished up her history class and went to sickbay. Chapel had promised to show her how the DNA splicer worked.

She found the triumvirate, Nurse Chapel, and two security guards onvened around a single biobed. "Uhhhh, I'll come back later?" Elle asked, when they all turned to look at her. She got a look at the person on the bed and paled. "Oh, no."

"You know who this is?" Kirk asked. "Is this an episode?"

She stared at the man's half-black, half-white face. "Yup. This is that guy who his people are slaves on his homeworld, and there's one other of his people, except he's black on the other side, who thinks that all of the ones like this are supposed to be slaves or animals or something, and they fight, and you take them to their home planet, which is already dead, which I don't understand how they didn't check on their people like once, because apparently these guys are fifty thousand years old or something."

Kirk blinked. Blinked again. "Can you try that again but with pauses, this time?" he asked, amused.

Elle pointed. "Activist here. Racist on the way. Okay, technically, they're both racist, because they don't believe either side are worth living, which is why their whole civilization died..."

"There's a whole species like this?" McCoy asked, getting that 'research paper' look in his eye.

"There is indeed," said a raspy voice.

"He's awake," Chapel said, unnecessarily, and they turned to face him.

"You're aboard the starship Enterprise," Kirk said.

"I've heard of it. It's in the United Fleet of Planets?"

"Federation," Kirk corrected. "So was the shuttlecraft that you were flying in."

Lokai looked uninterested. "It was?"

"Don't you usually know whose property you've stolen?" Kirk asked.

"I'm not a thief," Lokai said. "I do not make off with things. My need gave me the right to use the ship. Mark the word, sir, the use of it."

"The Federation helps people in need," Kirk said, "if you had asked for assistance, we would've helped you."

"Hmph."

"I'm Captain Kirk," Kirk said. "You are?"

"Lokai, of the planet Cheron."

"When was the last time you were home?" Elle asked.

Lokai's eyes narrowed. "A long time. If I'm counting correctly, fifty-thousand of your years."

"Are all your people so long-lived?" McCoy asked.

"Most of us," Lokai said. He frowned. "Will your Federation really help people in need?"

"We will, yes," Kirk said slowly.

Lokai grabbed the captain's arm. "Then you must help me! My people are being slaughtered and enslaved every day."

"If you haven't been to your home planet in so long, how do you know?" Elle asked, and subsided when all the adults glared at her. She sidled behind Nurse Chapel.

"I _know_ ," Lokai said. "Our oppressors would never see reason."

"Who is oppressing you?" Kirk asked.

The comm whistled. "Captain Kirk," Chekov said, "contact with alien ship, sir."

"I'll be right there. Notify Mister Spock." Kirk gave Elle a significant look. "With me, Miss Wilcott."

She followed him out of sickbay. "What?" she asked.

"Why are you goading the fifty-thousand-year-old alien being?" he asked, frowning at her. "You should know better."

Elle sighed. "I know, I know, but it's so easy..."

He gave her an unimpressed look. "I know it's easy, but you need to resist the temptation. We're going to have enough trouble as it is."

"Sorry."

"There is a time and place for goading powerful beings," Kirk added, smirking. "You have to learn the timing." He tugged at her braid. "C'mon, let's go see what other trouble we've got."

"I bet this'll be the other guy," Elle said.

"No bet," Kirk replied, and they entered the bridge.

"Sir, we are tracking an alien ship, but it does not appear on visual," Spock said. "No malfunction in sensors."

"It's invisible," Elle said. "I think."

"That would make sense," Chekov said. "Sir, sensors show the ship is on a direct collision course for the Enterprise."

"Shields up, red alert!"

Elle hustled over to the empty enviro console and strapped in. No more concussions for her, thank you. She braced for impact as the invisible ship crashed into the shields. The shields did their job, and there wasn't even a jolt. She lifted her head. "Huh."

Spock frowned. "The ship has disintegrated, Captain, but it seems to have deposited an alien presence."

"Where?" Kirk demanded.

"Right here, captain," said a voice, and everyone whirled to face the half-black, half-white man standing by the turbolift. "I am Bele. Forgive my unorthodox arrival."

"Your mode of travel was also unorthodox," Kirk said dryly. "All hands, secure from Red Alert." He raised an eyebrow at Bele. "What happened to your vehicle?"

While Bele was talking, Spock gave her the look that meant 'get off the bridge.'

Elle slid out of her seat and took the smaller, secondary turbolift off the bridge. Sickbay was presumably off-limits, which meant that she now had nothing to do. She went to the rec deck to hang out.

Later that evening, Spock came to find her.

"How are our visitors?" Elle asked.

"Combative, irrational, and highly emotional," Spock said, wrinkling his eyebrows in distaste.

Elle snorted. "Sound like racists to me," she said. She popped another piece of mango in her mouth.

"On your Earth," Spock said slowly. "Did many people exhibit the same attributes?"

"Not to this degree," Elle said. "But the attitudes were there, a lot of them. Where I come from, civil rights only started being a thing like, what, sixty years ago? You see a lot of it, nowadaways, with the government and different racial minorities, lots of violence, lots of protest, lots of everything."

"Was there no forward progress?" Spock asked.

"Some," Elle said. "But lack of prejudice is a change of morals, of principles and worldviews. And if it doesn't benefit someone directly, they don't care to change." She wrinkled her nose. "My world was terrible, come to think of it."

He gazed at her solemnly. "Do you have any prejudice against anyone?"

" _No_ ," Elle said immediately. She frowned. "At least, I don't think so? My parents are white and Hispanic, my whole family's all mixed... I've never hated anybody. Well, except like, evil people, but it doesn't matter what color they are if they're evil, right?"

"Their skin color does not preclude them being evil," Spock said dryly. "I did not mean to cause you a moral crisis, Elle, forgive me. I have seen you interact with all the crewmembers of the Enterprise and other worlds with equal courtesy and respect, regardless of species, gender, or skin color."

"Oh." Elle let out a sigh of relief and blew her napkin away. She scrambled after it. "What'd you ask that for, then?"

"The captain and I were concerned that due to your upbringing in the volatile 21st century, which may have included exposure to prejudiced attitudes or thinking, that you may be unnecessarily upset or swayed by Lokai or Bele."

Elle blinked slowly, parsing the long sentence. "You, think, I'm gonna start taking sides?" she asked slowly.

"You have taken on the safety of the Enterprise as your personal crusade against the galaxy," Spock reminded her. "You are, unfortunately, the type of person which both sides of Cheron's population would target to join their cause."

Elle bit her lip. "Are you talking to all the other people like me in the crew?" she asked, wondering if she should feel insulted or not.

"No," Spock said, and ouch. "They have no frame of reference to understand what Lokai and Bele speak of, they do not understand their speeches."

"Lucky them," Elle said, frowning.

"Luck has nothing to do with it. The Federation has made a concerted effort to rid itself of attitudes that harm others."

Elle looked up at him. "But even if Lokai's speeches got to me, there'd still be no point. He's not wrong, slavery is bad and we should take a stand against it, but there's no one left on either side to stand against. And he's just as prejudiced against Bele as Bele is against him. They're both wrong."

Spock's shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch. "You are correct," he said. "I am pleased that you understand this."

"But you still don't want me around them," she guessed.

"Yes."

She nodded slowly. "Okay. I don't want to be around irrational racists either, so that works out."

He stood. "Good night, _ax'nav_."

"Good night, _a'nirih_."

He gave her a fond smile and the door closed with a whoosh behind him.

Elle went to bed.

-/\\-

She was woken in the middle of the night by the whoop of a red alert. "All hands, this is the captain. The ship is on Red Alert. Repeat, the ship is on Red Alert. There has been an unidentified malfunction in the ship's directional control. Repeat, the ship is off course and out of our control."

Elle groaned. It had been too much to hope that Bele and Lokai would let the Federation mediate peacefully. She pulled a pillow over her head to block out the noise.

The Red Alert ended after the longest five minutes Elle had ever experienced.

The comm whistled. "Spock to Elle."

She flung out a hand and tapped the comm. "Elle here." She yawned.

"We are approaching Ariannus, if you would like to observe the decontamination procedure in person," he said.

She sat up. "Cool, let's do it. Where?"

"Science Lab 4."

"On my way. Elle out."

By the time she dressed and made her way down, they were entering low orbit. They'd have to drop right into the atmosphere to drop the payload, but with Sulu at the helm, there wasn't even a rumble.

They made three passes over the affected areas, and Elle watched in fascination as live sensor updates from the ground showed the contamination levels dropping within minutes.

"Another day or so, they'll be completely out of danger," Lt. Ellis said, pleased. He gave Elle a high-five.

"Nice." Elle checked the time, decided to go up to the bridge to see if Spock could tell her anything about the other uses of ramjets. Something about them sparked a memory of an episode, though she couldn't remember if it was TNG or Voyager where they were used... probably both.

She entered the bridge and immediately regretted it, faced with both Lokai and Bele shouting at each other. Guess Spock had told them that everyone on Cheron was gone.

"Your band of murderers did this!"

"Your genocidal maniacs did this!" They grabbed each other.

She got back in the turbolift, barely catching sight of Kirk's expression. "Stop it! What's the matter with you two?" he said loudly.

The doors closed. "Deck five," Elle said tiredly.

The turbolift dropped her off on Deck Five and she headed for the mess hall. It was too early to be up but now she was hungry.

Lokai shot past her at a run, pushing her into the wall.

She caught herself against the wall and watched in shock as Bele followed a few moments later, his eyes narrowed in single-minded focus. She hesitated, and then followed at a light jog. She reached the transporter room just in time to see Bele beam himself down.

"Okay then," Elle said, to the empty transporter room. She turned on her heel and went back to the mess hall. It wasn't her business.

The captain came into the mess hall a few minutes later, looking defeated. "They're gone," he said. "Beamed down to Cheron to chase each other around."

"Can they even kill each other?" Elle asked.

"I don't know," he said. "They certainly gave it a good try. We're headed back to Starbase Four to return the stolen shuttle, though, and we're going to post a beacon in orbit as a warning." He shook his head and poured himself a cup of coffee. He sighed. "They are two powerful, educated beings, and they chose to hate each other instead of work together to preserve their planet. I don't understand it."

"They've spent too long hating each other," Elle said. "It's comfortable."

He gave her a sharp look. "Is that what happened on your Earth?"

She nodded slowly. "Of course, I don't really know," she said. "Things might change." The pain of loss was easier to push away this time. "If our time was like your twenty-first century, then we have some hope, right?"

"There's always hope," Kirk said, and gave her a hug.


	84. Space to Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst, if you haven't read Chap 83 go back, we're doing six chapters again today, thank

"Good morning, Elle."

She blinked at him. "You are entirely too chipper for it being this early," she informed the captain, and slurped her hot chocolate obnoxiously.

"New mission," he said, and sat down across from her. "The Federation has finally been granted access to the planet Gideon."

Elle cringed. "More snooty diplomats?" she asked.

"No," Kirk said. "The Gideon High Council has asked for the Enterprise, and specifically, its captain."

Elle gulped her hot chocolate. "Wait... Gideon?"

"Yes," the captain said warily. "Why? Do you remember it? Is this an episode? Oh, Great Bird, are there going to be more Klingons?"

Elle shook her head.

"Romulans?"

"Nope." Elle licked her whipped cream mustache off her lip. "Some very light vampirism."

He stared at her. "..."

"Not real vampirism," Elle hastily reassured him. "They just want your blood. To kill people with."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Do you delight in saying these things just to confound us?" he asked in an arch, posh tone.

"I do," Elle replied, and giggled madly into her chocolate. "No, but really. Nobody on their planet can die and they're overpopulated to death, and they want to start killing people with, um, that disease you almost died with last month. The vegan one."

His eyebrows went up. "You're kidding."

"That's all they want."

He leaned forward, pressing his fingers into the table. "Not colony planets? Not contraceptives? Not immigration channels?"

"They don't believe in birth control," she replied promptly.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know."

"But there are other ways!" He stood up and tugged at his hair frenetically. "I won't be used as some sort of, of _plague_. I have to contact Star Fleet." He patted her on the head and strode out, a man on a mission.

Elle sighed and went back to her breakfast. "I think I'm gonna need another cup of chocolate."

"No," Nurse Lia said, as she passed by.

"Hey!"

The captain was still talking to HQ when Elle wandered up to the bridge after her lunch break.

Uhura stopped her from going over to Spock. "Why's your hair wet?" Uhura whispered, touching Elle's dark hair hanging loose over her shoulders.

"I had gym, played volleyball with the yeomen, just took a shower," Elle whispered back. "How's it going?"

Onscreen, the admiral said, "You'll have to speak to the Federation Diplomatic Corps about that. Star Fleet out." The screen switched to the view of the starfield.

Kirk threw himself back in his chair and tipped his head back with a loud groan. "I can't believe this. Lt. Uhura, put in a call to the Federation Diplomatic Corps, please."

"Yes, sir."

He exhaled heavily and turned her chair to face Mr. Spock. "Probability of getting an answer this time around, Mr. Spock?" he asked.

"Low, captain," Spock said, his tone dry as his planet.

The captain rolled his eyes. "Diplomats." He caught sight of Elle and smiled. "Come to tell me a plot twist?"

"Nope," Elle said. "Just came to see how it was going."

"Learn anything new today?"

"How to spike the ball," Elle replied, and added sheepishly, "I elbowed Ensign Paige in the face on accident."

"Ouch."

"She's okay," Elle replied. "It was a very light elbow."

Sulu huffed a laugh. "Says Miss Pointy-Elbows."

"Anything, Lt?" Kirk asked, turning back to Uhura.

"We're on hold, sir," Uhura said, sounding discouraged.

Elle half-raised a hand. "Is now a good time to mention that Sarek gave me the personal comm number of the Federation president and the Terran ambassador?"

Spock whipped around to stare at her as his eyebrows hit the ceiling. "I beg your pardon?"

"He made me memorize them," Elle said, grinning smugly.

"You have the Federation president's comm?" Kirk repeated. "Why?"

"I don't know. He didn't give a specific reason, he just said it was for leverage. In case I really neded it."

Kirk stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Let's keep that option in reserve," he said. "I don't think we're qu at that level."

Sulu spoke up. "We're coming up on Gideon, sir."

"What's the population?" Elle asked, peering over Chekov's shoulder at the sensors.

"We are not allowed to scan the surface," Chekov said. "Probably for that very reason."

"Hm."

"Captain, the Gideon High Council is contacting us," Uhura reported.

"Put them through, lieutenant." Kirk turned to the screen, his Ultimate Negotiator Is Not-Happy Face on. That was the face he used with Klingons. Yikes. "Gideon High Council, this is Captain Kirk."

"Captain Kirk, we are glad you have arrived," the guy in charge said. "This is Ambassador Hodin. I will be your main contact. We have provided the beamdown coordinates to your communications officer."

"Thank you, ambassador," Kirk said. "I have some questions, before I beam down."

Ambassador Hodin made a face. "If you'd beam down, captain, I can assure you we will have plenty of time to answer your questions."

"I would like to ask what methods you use to keep your planetary population levels stable," Kirk continued blithely, using the method known as 'bull in a china shop.'

Hodin and the other councilors on screen gaped at him. "Excuse me?" he demanded. "Scanning the planet's surface is expressly forbidden-"

"We did not scan the surface, ambassador," Kirk replied, holding out his hands in a symbol of peace. His smile was as sharp as obsidian. "My science and anthropology officers are simply fascinated by your culture. If your planet is a virtual paradise where no one dies of disease, how do you keep the population at a sustainable rate? We'd like to know, there are several planets reaching dangerous overpopulation levels. Do you have colonies? Would they be included in possible talks for Federation citizenship?"

"We have no colonies," Hodin said sharply.

"Oh, I see." He tilted his head. "Then how..."

Hodin frowned. "If you would beam down, we could show you."

"I'd prefer not to," Kirk said blandly.

Hodin's scowl deepened. "Someone has told you. Who?"

"Told us what?" Kirk asked, his expression bland as unsalted mashed potatoes.

"We no longer wish for your presence," Hodin said. "Leave. Now."

Kirk dropped the pretense. "Ambassador Hodin," he said. "We know that your population has risen to intolerable levels. It cannot be otherwise. You asked for me, specifically, which makes me think you need something from me." He held their gazes. "I do not like to be used, gentlemen."

Hodin deflated. "We need your blood," he said. "It contains a disease that we could control. We must have it."

"No," Kirk said simply. "I will not allow my blood to be used in such a way."

"Does your doctor keep samples of this disease?"

"No," Kirk said again, even though McCoy probably did have it somewhere, the hoarder.

"Please, captain, we need it."

Kirk tilted his head. "In the Federation, bodily autonomy is the right of every sentient being. The answer is no." He raised a single eyebrow. "But, we will not turn away from people in need. How can we help you?"

Hodin huffed. "We do not wish to become part of the Federation."

"That will not be a condition of our offer," Kirk assured him. "How can we help? There are colony worlds, we can offer terraforming, transportation, immigration, contraceptives-"

"No!" Hodin said. "We cannot go against life itself!"

Kirk inclined his head. "That is your belief." He made a show of glancing at the chrono. "Take some time to deliberate, make a plan. I will call back in one standard hour."

Uhura closed the channel.

Elle clapped. "That was _great_ ," she said, hanging off the rail as she beamed at him. "That was _so good_."

Kirk grinned, the tips of his ears turning red. "Thank you."

"Do you think they're going to go for it?" Elle asked.

"That may be a question for you, _ax'nav_ ," Spock said. "What do you think?" 

Elle chewed on her lip. "Well, he does seem to actually care about his people."

"We'll have to wait and see," Kirk decided. "Lt. Uhura, call Commander Atka to the Conference Room."

Ah, Commander Atka, the Enterprise's "lawyer". She was cool.

Elle went back to class, satisfied that nothing would get past the captain.

"Okay, this, I was not expecting," Elle said, surveying the orderly file of new colonists from Gideon as they trekked from transporter rooms to their temporary quarters, following calm nurses and yeomen.

"Why do you think we have so much space on this ship?" Sulu asked, laughing. "This is what it's for."

Elle smiled as a trio of children went past with their parents, each child staring in awe at the high ceilings and the open corridors. "True," she said.

Sulu checked his padd. "Also you're getting roommates. Ensigns Carla and Maddie Henry gave up their quarters for a family whose wife just gave birth to a baby."

"Don't Carla and Maddie have a cat?" Elle asked.

"Yup. Burmese."

Elle frowned. "Cats don't eat tribbles, right?"

Sulu grimaced. "I don't think so?"

"If they do eat tribbles can you keep Simba till we get to the new colony?"

"Sure." Sulu patted her on the head. "It'll only be for a week or so, until we get the prefab shelters set up on the colony planet."

Gideon the solar system had the main planet, Gideon, as well as three M-class satellites orbiting the two gas giants in the system. Previous Federation surveys had pinpointed the largest one as the best place to put a colony.

The Enterprise stayed in the Gideon system for another three weeks, ferrying colonists from Gideon to New Gideon-

("Spock are we sure they're not human? They're showing a very human lack of originality in their naming practices."

"They may indeed have a common ancestor, captain.")

-and helping the colonists set up their new communities. If there was one thing Star Fleet was good at, it was colonies. This may or may not be why the Romulans hated the Federation.

"It's very British of them," Elle said, watching the fabricators run full-time as they printed out yet more pre-fab parts.

"Is the computer being British again?" Lt. Matheson asked tiredly. "I thought we fixed that."

Elle laughed. "No, it's, I'm commenting on Federation-Romulan relations."

"Please, for the love of all that's holy, do not invoke the Romulans," Lt. Matheson said.

"Sorry."

Elle went back to her quarters. The ship was full of Gideonites, soon to be New Gideon-ites, and Elle still had schoolwork to do.

Simba and Concrete the kitty were sitting on the sofa, napping. The cat, contrary to appearances, loved Elle's tribble and wanted to be next to it at all times. Both of them were purring like miniature lawnmowers.

Elle sat next to them and enjoyed the ambiance.

"Commander Spock? Can I-"

"No."

Elle pouted. "You didn't let me finish!"

"You may not go down to the surface," Spock replied.

"Whyyyyy."

"The only ones cleared to go the surface have no record of rare diseases, either dormant or active," Spock said. "We cannot risk giving the Gideon High Council any means to kill their own population."

"Oh." Elle inspected the bluish-green veins under her skin. "I have a rare disease?"

"You are from 21st century Earth," he said, which, okay, enough said.

One of the science lieutenants stuck his head in. "Which means if you're ever in trouble, just bite them really hard and break the skin, you're basically a bioweapon."

" _Coool_."

Spock pointedly did not roll his eyes. "May I help you, Lt?"

"Yes, sir." The lt handed him a PADD. "We got an interesting repot from the Defiant, they took over our sector for us, and they discovered an artificial planet with the remains of a civilzation. Their CSO sent over the preliminary report since we've had more experience with artificial planetoids."

"Thank you, Lt." Spock took the report.

Elle sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll stay on the ship and watch people assemble toilets."

Spock definitely rolled his eyes that time.


	85. Monty Python and The Elasticity of Brain

"Today we will be analyzing the new advances in technology that we are taking to Memory Alpha," Spock said.

Elle perked up. "Memory Alpha! I love that website!" 

Spock blinked. "It is not a website. It is a planetoid that houses the Federation's central library."

"Okay, but it's also a website that has all the canon Star Trek information. I like Memory Beta better though because it includes fanon and stuff from the novels." Elle rotated the holographic schematic, looking at all the memory servers. "Wait, this is the whole planet?"

"The whole planetoid," Spock corrected.

"There's a Doctor Who episode about a library planet," Elle said. "That was a terrifying episode."

"Why?" Spock asked.

"Because there were flesh-eating shadows living in some of the paper books," Elle replied placidly. "When I first watched that episode I couldn't sleep for a week."

Spock sighed. "I will never understand the human propensity for purposefully inflicting mental trauma on themselves as entertainment."

She pointed the stylus at him. "Hey, you watch MacGyver, and you like it."

"I do not watch MacGyver, my quantum mechanics team watches MacGyver, and I do not like it. Although you are correct. To a Vulcan, that is classified as horror." He gave a delicate shudder. "The _inaccuracies_."

Elle cackled.

"Returning to the subject," Spock said.

She forced herself to calm down and focus.

-/\\-

"What are we all staring at?" Elle asked, sliding in next to a group of yeomen, all staring raptly at Mr. Scott and a new lieutenant.

"Scotty's in _loooove_ ," Yeoman Barrows said quietly.

"She's too young for him," Yeoman Rand said, with the confidence of someone who'd won twenty credits last week for catching Scotty and Uhura having a "not-date" on the Observation Deck last weekend.

Elle nodded sagely.

"Then why's he flirting?"

"She's an engineer," another yeoman said. "When is an engineer not going to flirt with another engineer?"

"Never," said Lt. Riley in passing, and winked at his fellow engineer.

Lt. Martine rolled her eyes expressively.

Elle sniggered.

-/\\-

"Are we there yet?" Elle asked, peering over Sulu's shoulder.

"I will turn this ship around," Sulu threatened, smirking. "And no. We're almost in visual range though."

"Sensors registering-" Spock's calm announcement was cut off by the whoop of an alert. "-incoming phenomenon, approaching at warp 2."

"That's not a natural phenomenon, then," Kirk said. "Visual?"

It looked like an ion storm, but more colorful. It looked like, it looked like it was moving with intent. Searching.

Elle shivered and drew closer to the captain's chair, suddenly nervous.

"Shields up," Kirk ordered. "Yellow alert."

Elle started for the nearest empty station. She was only on the first step when the storm hit.

A wave of energy poured through the bridge, leaving a feeling like static electricity. It swept over Elle and stalled. Stopped. Dove deeper, like tiny needles piercing her brain.

_Hello, hello, greetings, hello, yes, you're perfect, we need you, we need your help-_

Elle wanted to scream, but she was stuck, frozen in this moment as a wave of pressure crashed over her mind-

_Hello, let us in, greetings, greetings, do not resist, it's okay, it's a body, we haven't had bodies in so long, hello hello hello-_

"Go away!" Elle shouted, or tried to, but they ignored her.

_Do not resist, it's all right, we can share, you're small, hellohellohelloHELLO-_

Elle finally blinked, and then she was somewhere else. A familiar ceiling, a familiar texture over her arms. She sat upright, gasping for breath, her head spinning. "Bones!" she shouted, forcing the words past uncooperative lips. "Bones!"

Firm hands grabbed her before she could fall out of the biobed. "Hush, darlin', easy," Bones soothed, trying to sit her back against the raised bed.

"No, no, they're in my head," she said, grabbing at his arm in pain as the Others settled into her mind. "Bones, they're in my head, they need their own bodies-"

"Who, Elle? Who's in your head?" he asked calmly, his blue eyes serious.

"They are," she whispered. "There's so many of them-" She started to cry, frustrated. "I can't, there's too many-"

"Deep breath," he coached. "Deep breath. Who?"

"The Z- Zetar," she hiccupped, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. "They- they want physical bodies again- they-" The clamor of voices in her head grew louder and she couldn't resist it.

_Hello hello hello hello let me have a turn, look, color! Color! We haven't seen in so long-_

Elle drifted in a sea of grey.

-/\\-

There were stickers on her face.

_Stickers, stickers, what's a sticker don't you remember, it's a non-permanent adhesive, it comes off, it's measuring electrical signals in the brain, sticker sticker we used to play with stickers mama I want stickers yes I know you'll get some stickers, stickers, stickers, they're not stickers, She calls them stickers-_

With a groan, Elle lifted a hand to peel one of the itchy stickers off her forehead.

"Doctor she's awake," someone said.

_Voice, voice, you got to speak last time, I want to speak next time. Sing sing sing, we should sing, we haven't sang in ages we should sing the song of the stars of the dark of the deep let's sing, let me speak it's my turn-_

"Chris," Elle whispered tiredly. "Chris, my head hurts."

A warm hand pressed against her forehead. "I know, sweetheart, you're going to be okay."

_Warm, warm, touch touch touch touch we haven't touched in so long, feeling, oxytocin, serotonin dopamine, yes we know what it means shut up, warm warm I want a hug, someone give us a hug-_

Spock appeared over her, his black hair haloed in the sickbay lights. "Elle. How do you feel?"

"I feel-" she winced as another personality tried to shove forward. She slammed the mental door on him/her/them. She squinted up at Spock. "What?"

Spock frowned. "Am I speaking to Elle?"

"Yeah, it's me, I-" She shivered, trying to focus, trying to remember. "Were you speaking to someone else?"

"You were speaking another language earlier," he informed her, still frowning, his sharp gaze analyzing her. "Records match the language to the Zetar people."

"They're in my head," she said. "The cloud, it was them."

"We know. At least ten separate identities."

She shook her head slowly. "A hundred." She tapped at her forehead. "They're in here."

He looked worried. Visibly worried. "A _hundred_?"

_A hundred, yes, the last centenar of us, the survivors, we are here, we're here, we finally have a place to rest, a place to exist instead of the dark the cold the void the place between solar winds-_

She pressed her hands over her ears, trying to shut them up. "Shut up!" she hissed, pain spiking at her temples. "Spock, make them stop, they won't stop-"

"Do not damage yourself, _ax'nav_ ," he said, reaching up to grip her wrists. He hissed as he felt what she was feeling. "They are chaotic."

"Don't touch me," she said, trying to yank away from him, "you don't need that-"

"Let me help," he said calmly. "I can supplement your shielding."

She almost sobbed in relief as his calm, methodical presence shored up her weakening mental barriers. "Thank you," she whispered, as the whirling storm eased into a distant murmur of voices.

"Elle?" The captain was there, in front of her. How long had he been there? He met her gaze. "Can you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," she whispered, still bracing her head in her hands.

"We're going to try to get them out of you," Kirk said. "We're going to use a pressure chamber, I need you to be brave, okay?"

Pressure chamber. Pressure chamber. Memory Alpha. Elle squeezed her eyes shut as memories popped up. "Lt. Romaine," she said, "is she okay?"

"The new lt? She's fine. Did you hear me, Elle?"

"Memory Alpha, was it destroyed?" she pressed urgently.

"No, we haven't reached Memory Alpha yet." The captain took her hands gently. "Elle, can you understand me? I need you to be brave-"

"You can't kill them!" Elle cried. "They spent this long-"

"Elle, they're killing you," Kirk said. "Their brain patterns are overwriting yours."

"They want somewhere to rest," Elle told them, echoing what the Zetar had told her. "They have so much knowledge, they have all this history, it can't just _die_."

"It's not worth your life," Kirk said.

"Wait," Elle begged, "wait, what if there was a solution?" She didn't know who she was asking. The captain? The Zetars? Both.

Kirk raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

 _What do you mean what do you mean we need a body we need a mind this mind we need your body do not resist you'll die your brain your mind we need it to rest_ -

Elle resisted the urge to claw at her hair. "Like I said," she gasped, "McCoy's a hoarder, he's still got, the fishbowls. Sargon, Thalassa. One's broke but the other two, these guys aren't as old or powerful as Sargon, they could fit, they could fit, right?"

Kirk and Spock shared a glance. "They might," Kirk said. "We need to get them out of your head."

"I'll ask," Elle said. "I'll ask, and you can talk to them. Or one of them."

"You can't let them take over," Kirk said urgently.

"Have to," Elle rasped, the pressure in her mind building, like watching a lasagna explode in the microwave. "Have to communicate. Can't just, kill them. Negotiate. You can do it. Please, captain."

"There's no guarantee we will get you back," Spock warned. "We cannot."

"I can handle it," Elle said shakily. "I can, I'll convince them. I will."

 _Convince, convince what, we want this body, we don't want a fishbowl, what's a fishbowl, what's a fishbowl, no, we don't shoot lightning, we don't want android bodies, we want this body_ -

Elle dropped the barriers in her mind and let the tide wash over her.

-/\\-

Elle stood knee-deep in rustling grass, surrounded by people of all ages, vaguely humanoid. Exactly one hundred of them. "Where are we?" Elle asked slowly.

"You are on Zetar," the one closest to her said. "This is our homeworld. Our shared vision of it. Welcome. Thank you for your body."

Elle swallowed hard. "You took it."

"One of us, our leader, yes. They are speaking to your captain."

"I need you all to leave," Elle said, trying to stay calm. "This is my brain and you all don't fit in it."

"Yes we do," said the one closest to her, and everyone else echoed the words. "That's why we chose you. You had enough room, and enough elasticity to house us."

"I'm the youngest," Elle said. "Is that why?"

"That is one of the reasons."

"What if we could put you somewhere else?" Elle asked.

"We don't need anywhere else, this is where we can stay." They offered her smiles. "You can stay with us. We won't suppress you completely."

The words, kindly meant, made her shudder. "Human brains aren't meant for more than one mind."

"We will fix it," they assured her.

"No, but-" Elle huffed. "You can't stay here. I don't want you here, and my captain won't let you take over my brain. They will remove you, do you understand? Either they'll throw you back out into space or they'll actually kill you."

The sky above the grass turned a darker shade of cerulean, and all the voices murmured discontent.

"I don't want that to happen to you," Elle said desperately. "I know how long you've tried to survive, to stay together. What if there was another way?"

"What is the way?"

"Listen," Elle begged, "listen, my captain is explaining to your leader, you have to agree, please, or your civilization will be truly lost."

"Shush, then."

And it was like the landscape flattened around them, and Elle was sitting behind her own eyes, looking at Kirk and Spock like she was sitting in the middle of a theater, watching a movie. Except those were _her eyes_ , and she wasn't supposed to be a _passenger in her own head_.

"This is non-negotiable," Kirk was saying, when Elle finally stopped freaking out.

"We will accept," said Elle's mouth, Elle's voice, except it wasn't _her_.

"Very well then."

There was a hiss, a pinch on Elle's arm _what's that what's that ow, it hurt, nothing has hurt in ages, what was it what was it what was it oh it was a sedative, we're going to sleep, everyone go to sleep we're transferring to the two fishbowls, no I don't want to be separated no I want a body no I want to stay here stay here stay here I don't wanna go I dont want to go no no no no NO NO NONONONONONONONONONO-_

-/\\-

Elle woke up screaming.

"Whoa, hey, whoa, it's okay!" Strong hands held her gently as she flailed. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay, you're okay-"

She burst into tears. "They're gone," she sobbed, hiding her face in the captain's shoulder. "They're gone, they're gone-" The silence in her own head was deafening, but it was her own tears, her own emotions, and her own voice.

Kirk rubbed her back gently. "You're all right, you're okay," he soothed. "They're all in the containers, you won't have to worry about them anymore."

"They just wanted a hug," Elle whispered, her tears welling again at the memory.

"They'll be hugged plenty by Memory Alpha technicians," Kirk said, giving her a tight hug.

"It wasn't destroyed?" Elle asked.

"No."

"Nobody died?"

"No."

"Lt. Romaine? She's okay?"

"She's okay." Kirk leaned back a bit to meet her gaze. "Why her?"

"This, I think this was an episode," Elle said, taking a shuddering breath. She ducked her gaze. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"It's not your fault," Kirk said, tucking her back into a hug. "You were very brave, and you saved the ship and you saved the Zetars. You have nothing to feel sorry about."

She took another breath, trying to get a handle on her emotions. "I'm tired," she said, sniffling.

"I'm sure you are," he teased gently, resting his chin on her head. "You just hosted a whole colony of people in your head."

"They were loud," Elle said.

"I'm sorry."

She let herself enjoy the silence. The only noises were the quiet beeps and whirs of sickbay, and her own heartbeat in her ears. "I feel bad for the little boy."

"Little boy?"

"One of the Zetar. Was a little boy."

Kirk 'hmm'ed thoughtfully. "The leader told us that the most worthy of his people survived, only a hundred."

"A hundred," Elle confirmed. "But one was a child. He wanted stickers." She picked at the last monitor on her temple, the itchiness distracting her.

Kirk put his hand over hers, gently stopped her from scratching. He squeezed her hand. "You gave us quite the scare," he said. "Let's not do that again, huh?"

She nodded tiredly. "Where's Bones?"

"Finally ordered him and Spock to bed once you and the Zetar were both stable," Kirk said. "I promised to keep an eye on you." He winked. "And Dr. Sanchez is keeping an eye on me, and Nurse Chapel is keeping an eye on her, so that means you're getting some food in a little bit."

Elle wrinkled her nose. "I don't feel like food."

"How about strawberry smoothie?" Nurse Chapel asked, entering on cue. "If you drink this whole thing you get a lollipop."

Elle took a sip of her smoothie. "Wait," she said, "we're at Memory Alpha?"

"We are," Kirk said. "Made orbit a few hours ago."

"Can I go?" Elle asked eagerly. 

Nurse and captain shared an amused glance. "We'll see," Nurse Chapel said. "In the meantime, drink your smoothie, the captain will read you a story, and you can go back to sleep."

Elle grumbled internally about being treated like a child, but that did sound kind of nice, actually.

She fell asleep halfway through her smoothie.

After rigorous brain scans, brainwave pattern testing, neurological function tests, and quizzes on Vulcan language, Shakespeare, and Mexico, Elle was allowed to leave sickbay.

"If you feel the slightest bit dizzy, nauseous, disoriented, sick, or tired in any way you come right back, you hear me?" Bones asked.

Elle nodded.

"Good. Jim agreed to take you to Memory Alpha so go on."

"Yes!"

It was a bust. A _huge_ bust. "It's just servers," Elle complained to a cheerfully-sympathetic Kirk. "It's just freezing cold server rooms and there's no cool stuff. No books. What kind of library is this?"

"The boring kind," Kirk said kindly, and laughed at her exaggerated facial expressions.


	86. The Psychologist

"Wait, they're sending a what?"

"Psychological evaluator," McCoy repeated.

"For what?" Elle asked. 

"To evaluate your mental health after spending the last year and a half, almost two years, on a starship," McCoy said calmly.

Elle bit her lip. "Is this because of the documentary thing?" She cringed. "Or the Zetar?" She was sleeping fine. She _was_.

"No," McCoy said. "This was already planned, when we first agreed to take charge of you. Star Fleet, and Federation Child Services, was going to be monitoring the situation."

Elle made a face. "Are they sending someone trained in traumatized adolescent psychology or are they sending some desk jockey with a checklist?"

McCoy stared at her for a second and then started to laugh. "Does it make a difference?" he asked.

"It does, yes," Elle said. "A trained evaluator will realize that I'm fine and a desk jockey will just see Chief Giotto's list of potential rescue plans for me and send me back to Earth." She couldn't quite hide the tremble in her voice.

McCoy leaned over and put an arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be all right, darlin," he said.

She pressed her face against his soft blue scrubs. "What if they send me away, Bones?"

"I don't know," he said, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We'll fight them tooth and nail for you, you know that, and if does mean some changes, well, you've got seven sets of grandparents, plus eight thousand Vulcan clan members, who would love to help you. I'm sure T'Pau would be thrilled to boss around the Federation Council a little more."

Elle let out a wet chuckle. "True," she said, and felt a little better. She took a step back and rubbed at her eyes with her sleeve. "I am, normal, right Bones? To a normal person?"

"What is normal?" he asked.

Elle groaned. " _Bones_ , come on."

"No, I'm serious," he said. "You wanna talk about traumatized adolescents, let's talk about it. Give me your analysis."

She dropped onto his office couch and kicked her feet up on one end of it.

He sat down in his desk chair and waited patiently.

Elle sat up and took her feet off the couch. "Fine." She chewed on her lip, her teeth catching on a dry spot. _I need another chapstick_. She refocused. "What was the question?"

"Elle."

"I don't know. Someone who can like, do stuff, and has friends, and stuff."

"Then you're very normal," Bones assured her.

"Bones! I'm serious!"

"So am I," he replied. "You certainly 'do stuff'. You're self-disciplined, you learn in your classes, you help Scotty and his department, you help in this department. You have friends on this ship. You also have a healthy amount of 'stuff' that you call your own in your quarters. Therefore, by your own measurements, you are normal."

"Oh."

He gave her a smile. "You don't need to worry about it, I promise. The evaluator who's coming is actually a friend of mine, and has been made aware of most of your special circumstances."

"Not the foreknowledge?"

"No, not the foreknowledge. But everything else, yes."

She fidgeted. "Oh. When are they coming?"

"Two days. We'll be at starbase five, they'll be with us for a week, and then we'll drop them at starbase six."

"A week?"

"They're also evaluating the rest of us, Elle, as your primary guardians."

"Oh." She bit her lip again. "Can I go?"

"Yes." He reached into a drawer, handed her a sealed tube of chapstick. "Here, though."

She took it with a sheepish grin. "Thanks, Bones."

He gave her a gentle smile. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

-/\\-

That night, Elle couldn't sleep. She didn't want anyone to say she was 'coping poorly', so she stuffed her pride into a little box and marched herself down to sickbay.

Bones took one look at her and started apologizing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you about the upcoming visit-"

Ele sighed. "It's fine, Bone. I just, I have a test tomorrow so I need to sleep."

He gave her a sleeping pill and a cup of hot chocolate and another hug. "If you still can't sleep, I know that Spock's going to be in life sciences contemplating mold spores so you can go find him, all right?"

Elle acknowledged him with a raise of her mug. "Thanks."

She went to go sit with Spock and contemplate mold spores. Nasty little things.

By the time they got to the starbase, Elle was reasonably composed. Kirk, Spock, and Bones had all separately reassured her that it was going to be fine. She trusted their assessment.

-/\\-

Dr. Mackenzie Elspeth was a person transplanted directly from an episode of Ms. Marple, with two layers of soft, patterned cardigans, actual spectacles on an actual string 'round her neck, and pinstriped trousers. She greeted Captain Kirk with a firm handshake and a "Hello, dear."

Elle liked her instantly.

Dr. Elspeth turned to Dr. McCoy and they hugged. "Len, it's good to see you," Dr. Elspeth said, beaming at him.

"You too," Bones said, smiling just as wide. "Kenz, this is Elle Wilcott." He gestured Elle forward.

Elle blushed hotly and stuck out her hand. "Hi," she said.

There was an awkward silence, until Kirk stepped forward and said, "So, doctor, what can you tell us about pre-Star Fleet Bones? I hear he was quite the man about town..." he escorted her out.

"Jim!" Bones hurried after them.

Elle looked up at the ceiling, silently praying for strength (studiously ignoring Chief Kyle's snickering), and followed the grownups out.

They dropped Dr. Elspeth's luggage in her guest quarters and Dr. Elspeth turned to Elle. "So, my dear, two questions. Would you like to talk now or do you need more time to get used to me? And where would you like to talk?"

Elle blinked. "Um, in Bones, I mean Dr. McCoy's office, if that's okay?"

"That's perfectly fine," Dr. Elspeth said. "I can't wait to see if he still has little plastic skeletons hidden all over the office."

"I haven't done that in _years_ ," McCoy grumbled. "You're going to be bad for my image, Kenzie."

Elle couldn't stifle a laugh. "You have tiny skeletons hidden in your office?"

"No, I do not."

Dr. Elspeth winked at her. "I bet you a chocolate sundae that he does."

McCoy sighed loudly and irritatedly, which meant somewhere on one of his shelves among arcane medical tools he did indeed have a tiny plastic skeleton.

Elle grinned. "I mean, we can talk now."

"Excellent. You lead the way, my dear, I have no sense of direction on these floating cities."

Elle led the doctor to the turbolift, Kirk and Bones on her heels.

They went to sickbay. The closer they got to Bones' office, the more nervous Elle got. She paused outside the door. "Can, uh, can Bones stay?" she asked, her cheeks heating up.

Dr. Elspeth smiled gently. "For our first chats, I'm afraid not. But he and Captain Kirk are welcome to hover right outside the door if they would like."

"Okay." Elle shot a look at the captain, who gave her a reassuring smile. "Okay," Elle repeated, and followed Elspeth into the office.

"Kick a man out of his own office," Bones grumbled as the door slid shut.

Elle laughed and wandered over to his shelves to start looking for the plastic skeletons.

Dr. Elspeth sat on the far end of the sofa and smiled at the pictures on Bones' desk. "Have you met Joanna McCoy, Elle?" she asked, and took out a PADD to start taking notes.

Elle smiled. "Yeah, we had dinner with her when we were on Earth the last time."

"Do you miss Earth?" Dr. Elspeth asked.

Elle paused. "Which one?"

"Either. Both."

She shrugged, her focus on the old bandaid tin in front of her. "Kind of. I like the fresh air, but, I've only been to this Earth twice, and my home Earth, not really?"

Dr. Elspeth made a note. "Do you feel at home here on the Enterprise?"

Elle smiled. "Yeah. I love this ship."

"I'm glad to hear it." Dr. Elspeth made another note. "Do you miss your parents?"

Elle almost knocked over Bones' medical certificates. "Of course I do," she whispered, her chest flaring with the ache of grief. "I miss them a lot. Not as much as before, but a lot."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Elspeth said. "They'd be happy to know you're safe and happy, here."

"I know," Elle said, and was able to smile at the doctor. "Bones told me."

Elspeth smiled back. "Is he your primary caretaker?"

Elle shrugged. "I feel like they kind of go even-stevens."

Elspeth patted the other end of the couch. "Why don't you come sit and tell me about them? I'd like to hear it in your own words."

Elle sat gingerly on the couch cushion, crossed her legs, uncrossed her legs, crossed her ankles, and pulled at her sleeve with her opposite hand. "All of them?"

"The senior officers are your primary guardians," Dr. Elspeth said, "how about we start with those?"

"Okay." Elle fidgeted with her sleeve. "So, Captain Kirk, we read books together. He's in charge of my literature and philosophy classes. When he's busy doing captainly things, I have them with someone else, though we always talk about that section later."

"Is he busy a lot?" Dr. Elspeth asked.

Elle bristled. "He _is_ the captain of a starship, doctor."

"I know, and I'm not implying anything, dear. I just want to know."

Elle glared suspiciously. "No, he isn't busy a lot. Well, he _is_ , but he makes time for our reading time. And if it's unavoidable, he always knows which crewman to send me to that's read the book already."

"Good, I'm glad," Dr. Elspeth said simply. "Do you and the captain have anything else in common?"

Elle picked at a loose thread. "Waffles," she said. "And strawberry cheesecake, when Bones isn't looking. But we do lots of things together. He and Spock taught me to play chess. And with missions, or whatever questions I have, he always answers me. I've read so much philosophy on this ship. Between him and Bones I'm starting to get into psychology."

Dr. Elspeth grinned. "Bones. Is that Dr. McCoy's nickname?"

"Yeah," Elle said. "The captain calls him that. Like Sawbones, the old ship's surgeons?" She grinned. "Only we get to call him that, or else he rants at you. It's hilarious. One of the ensigns in maintenance got a cut on his leg, so he was on the good painkillers, and he asked him 'when can I go, doctor Bones?" She cackled. "You should've seen his face."

"I'll have to try it," Dr. Elspeth said, smirking. "You don't get upset when Dr. McCoy rants or hollers? I've heard he and Commander Spock have rather explosive encounters."

Elle laughed. "Explosive," she mocked. "Of course not. Bones only rants at people he cares about. And people doing dumb stuff without proper safety gear, but he loves those ensigns, too, so," she shrugged.

The doctor laughed. "Dr. McCoy has a warm heart under all that Southern gruff," she said.

Elle smiled. "Yeah, he does. Whenever I need to talk, he's always got time for me."

"I'm glad." Dr. Elspeth made another note. "And Commander Spock?"

Elle's smile widened. "He's the best."

"Is he?" Dr. Elspeth asked. "How so?"

Elle fidgeted with her sleeve, trying to think of a way to explain without making it seem like he was blatantly emotional.

"Elle?" the doctor prompted.

"He just is," Elle said. "Science lessons are always fun, and if they're not fun then they're cool. He taught me to meditate, to help with my insomnia. And he taught me how to do the nerve-pinch. He basically adopted me, you know. His clan, on Vulcan."

"I did know that," Dr. Elspeth said. "I think we were all very surprised."

"Why?" Elle asked. "Vulcans value children very highly. Lots of families adopt children."

"True," Dr. Elspeth said. "I wouldn't think that a Vulcan science officer would be your favorite person, though. Vulcans are not a tactile species."

Elle frowned. "He doesn't have to be tactile to show me that he cares. I get hugs from the captain, or Bones, or Lt. Uhura, or all my other crewmates, when I want one. And if I really, really do need a hug, he lets me."

"Has he ever told you that he cares for you?" the doctor asked.

Elle jumped off the sofa and clasped her hands tightly, trying not to be rude. "He doesn't have to tell me! He basically adopted me! He rearranged his entire schedule to be able to teach my science lessons! He sits on my couch and does paperwork when I have nightmares so that I can sleep! And for your information, yes, he has told me."

Dr. Elspeth raised her hands in surrender. "All right. I'm sorry for asking that. I was worried that you might be finding the difference between Vulcan and human emotional expressions difficult."

"Vulcans are my favorite beings, they aren't difficult," Elle replied hotly.

Dr. Elspeth tilted her head. "Is it because you find Vulcan ways easier to adopt?"

"They're logical, when not taken to extremes," Elle said. "And I'm a teenager, and I've had a lot of things happen, I have a lot of emotion going on."

The doctor nodded slowly. "You're very self-aware."

Elle eyed her warily. "That's part of what Bones and Spock are teaching me. You have to identify the emotion to work with it."

"Good," Dr. Elspeth said simply. "You're quick to defend your guardians-"

"Family," Elle interrupted. "They're family."

Dr. Elspeth smiled. "I'm glad you've found a family."

"Me too," Elle said, not moving from her spot near the shelves.

"Elle, let's take a minute, shall we? I asked you the wrong questions, and I apologize."

Elle fidgeted. "Why are you really here?" she asked. "Bones heard you were coming, he didn't ask for you. And no one on the Enterprise requested this evaluation, they would've told me."

Dr. Elspeth sighed and put down the PADD. "You're right. Star Fleet Command asked for this evaluation for several reasons. One, you are the first civilian stationed longer than three months on the Enterprise and you are technically due for this evaluation for research purposes. Star Fleet is thinking of putting civilians on starships, at least for long missions. Two, you are a minor with very strange circumstances. And lastly," the doctor grimaced. "There are some in Star Fleet who think that you would be better off on Earth."

"Why?" Elle asked.

Dr. Elspeth held out her hands again. "I know about your foreknowledge."

Elle sat abruptly on the edge of the coffee table, her knees going weak. "How?"

"I knew your file was incomplete and I pestered the admiral who gave me this assignment until he gave me clearance," Dr. Elspeth replied bluntly. "This is the first time anything like this has ever happened, and it makes your status doubly unique."

Elle bit her lip. "I don't want to go to Earth. I want to stay on the Enterprise."

"I know," Dr. Elspeth said. "I read your complete file, and I knew that you already loved this ship and this crew, and that you are better off here than anywhere on Earth. But I also have my duties to complete, and my objective assessment to give, which means I'm going to have to ask you stupid questions like 'how do you know Spock cares for you', or 'are your guardians providing consistent education and discipline'. And I'm going to ask Captain Kirk, and Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy, and everyone on this ship all the questions I can, to show that you are where you need to be, and that civilians on ships are worth the risk, even if that civilian isn't a fountain of knowledge." She met Elle's gaze. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Elle nodded slowly. "I understand."

"Thank you. I know my presence here is frightening, but I don't want to take you from your home anymore than you want to leave." Dr. Elspeth gave a little wink. "And between me and you, I haven't seen Dr. McCoy look this happy in a long time, so Star Fleet can nag all they want, you're not going anywhere."

Elle relaxed, not fully, but enough so the awful tightness in the pit of her stomach went away. "He's such a dad," she agreed tentatively, and stood up to break the tension. She poked at the fake plant on the shelf and a little plastic skeleton fell out. She started to laugh.


	87. Evaluations

Elle left the office and went immediately to hug the captain.

He hugged her tightly. "You okay?" he asked, rubbing her back.

She could sense him and Bones sharing a look over her head, but she was too busy squeezing the life out of him.

He tapped her back. "Elle, ribs, breathing," he wheezed.

She let go reluctantly. "I'm fine," she said. "I need ice cream."

"Okay," he said, searching her gaze for signs of tears. "You go find Lt. Riley or Lt. Uhura, get some ice cream, watch a movie, okay?"

"Okay." She left, not without hearing Bones say,

" _What did you say to her_ -"

"It's _fine_ , Len, she's ok-"

The door closed and Elle continued to the rec deck.

The rest of the day, Dr. Elspeth spent interviewing the senior officers of the Enterprise about Elle.

It made Elle feel weird to think about it. They were talking about her. What were they saying?

Every single one of them, with the exception of Spock, came and found Elle later and gave her a hug. That was nice.

The next day, Dr. Elspeth found Elle in the mess hall. "If you wouldn't mind, dear, today you can show me around your quarters, your classrooms, the different things you do. A day in the life, as it were."

Elle sipped at her tea. "Okay," she said, after a minute. "Can Lt. Uhura come?"

"She can come," Dr. Elspeth confirmed.

Lt. Uhura was glad to switch shifts and accompany them.

Elle felt odd, having a stranger inspect her quarters. At least it was relatively clean. She picked up her socks from the floor and stuffed them in the laundry basket before the doctor could turn and see them.

Uhura winked at her.

"And what's this?" Dr. Elspeth asked, coming over to Simba's bio-dome.

"This is my tribble," Elle said. "Simba." She lifted it out and the tribble immediately started purring. "It's okay, Simba doesn't have teeth."

"Fascinating," Dr. Elspeth said.

"And low-maintenance," Elle added, tucking Simba into her sweater.

"Let me guess, Dr. McCoy's idea?"

"Nope," Elle said. "Spock's."

"Fascinating." The doctor wandered over to Elle's bookshelves. "Real books?"

"I like them," Elle said.

The mini-fridge covered in garish, ugly magnets was met with amazement. "And what's this?" Dr. Elspeth asked.

"My snacks," Elle said. "And my one hang-on from my innate culture of twenty-first century materialism and consumerism."

"So you picked fridge magnets," Dr. Elspeth said.

"Yup."

"Well, my son collected river rocks," the doctor said, and made a note in her PADD. "You have a lovely home here, Elle."

"Thank you," Elle said. "Do you want to see my classrooms, now?"

"Sure."

So Elle showed her the different rooms and offices of her teachers. These people, too, were interviewed, and took great pleasure in showing Dr. Elspeth what Elle was learning, and-

"It feels like parent-teacher conferences," Elle said to Lt. Uhura. "Except there's no mini hotdogs or watery coffee."

"Phaser crew's got watery coffee in their department," Uhura offered, deadpan.

Elle rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Uhura had to go to her shift, after that. Elle took Dr. Elspeth to the Rec Deck, showed her Elle's Minecraft worlds, Elle's scores in the tiny-Enterprise simulator, and the 3D chess game she was playing against the computer. And she showed her the little pottery cupboard.

"Why pottery?" Dr. Elspeth asked.

"Games computer suggested it," Elle said. "And I find it soothing to squish when I'm frustrated."

"What frustrates you?" Dr. Elspeth asked, and really, Elle walked right into that one.

Elle sighed. "Feeling helpless. Not knowing what's going on."

"Does that happen alot?"

"Not really," Elle said. "Not just because of, you know. But in certain situations, like, I'm not good in combat scenarios, or when we're waiting for the captain's bluff to pay off. So I get out the clay and make a pinch pot, or a crooked turtle, and it makes me feel better."

"And these?" Dr. Elspeth asked, pocking up one of the shattered pots.

"Ah. Hvaid taught me that technique, reglue them with gold," Elle said.

"There's a Japanese technique, very similar," Dr. Elspeth said, giving her an odd look.

"Cool."

They took seats at one of the tables. "About the Romulans," Dr. Elspeth said.

"Yes?" Elle asked, wary.

"And the Klingons, and the Kelvans, and the Zetar," the doctor continued. "How do you feel about being taken hostage so much?"

Elle grimaced. "Is it bad if I say I've gotten used to it?"

"Yes," Dr. Elspeth said frankly.

Elle picked at a spot of paint on the table. "Well," she said, "I haven't gotten used to it, but I'm more prepared than I was, and I'm not afraid, because I trust the security officers and the captain, but it does get a little stressful. I have a bolt-hole, though. I'm not gonna show you where it is, security reasons."

"Good practice," Dr. Elspeth said, like she knew about the chart on Giotto's wall that read 'Civilian Security Protocols', which had seven flowcharts under 'Hostage Situation.' She probably did. "How do you feel about the thought of your own mortality?"

Elle grinned wryly. "Well I've already died once."

Dr. Elspeth winced. "True. Sorry. But thinking about it now?"

Elle shrugged. "I wouldn't be happy about it. Would anyone? I don't wanna die painfully or anything, but I'm not afraid. The Enterprise, Star Fleet, is bigger than me, or any of us." She glanced away. "But I'm kind of counting on my foreknowledge, I know the Enterprise'll be around a long time. It makes me less scared."

"You're not worried about being over-confident, missing something?" Elspeth asked.

Elle winced. "Of course I am. But, it'll either happen or it won't, and in the episodes, they survived just fine without my foreknowledge, so even if I didn't remember anything, they'd be okay. It'd work out. Temporal physics says it has to."

"Why?"

Elle gestured vaguely. She couldn't mention Deep Space 9. "Well we're here, aren't we?"

"You've thought about this a lot," Dr. Elspeth said.

"Yes, I have. Wouldn't you?"

The doctor conceded the point.

-/\\-

It was a long, stressful next three days, where Dr. Elspeth followed Elle around her normal routine and just, watched. The evenings, the doctor spent with Dr. McCoy, catching up on their lives. Nothing happened, no Klingons or energy beings appeared, but by the time they arrived at Starbase 4 Elle was exhausted.

"It was very nice to meet you, Elle," Dr. Elspeth said, shaking her hand.

Elle gave her a half-grin. "It was nice to meet a friend of Dr. McCoy's," she said diplomatically.

"I hope if we ever meet again it will be in a more casual setting," Dr. Elspeth told them.

Kirk, Spock, and Elle nodded. McCoy gave his fellow colleague a farewell hug. "Stay safe out there."

Dr. Elspeth surveyed them for a moment. "My recommendation to Star Fleet will be that Elle not be moved from the Enterprise," she said. "You have something beautiful here. I'm very happy for you all."

Kirk gave her a nod. "Thank you, Doctor. Energize."

Dr. Elspeth dematerialized.

Elle slumped into Bones' side. "So that was all unnecessarily stressful," she complained.

Bones laughed. "Go take a nap, then." He kissed her forehead. "You did good, darlin'. Kenzie was very impressed with you."

"Good."


	88. Khaaaaaaaaaaan

Kirk took a seat across from Elle. "Guess what?" he said.

"Chicken butt," Elle replied automatically, and tacked on, "sir."

He snorted. "That's a new one. We have a new mission, by the way, and it's all your fault."

"Sorry?" she asked. "What are we doing?"

"Saving Khan and his people. The orders finally came through."

Elle winced. "That, uh, took a while." 

He huffed a laugh. "Actually, by the standards of Star Fleet bureaucracy, that was a positively meteoric turnaround."

"Oh." She contemplated this. "So what are we going to do?"

"Relocate them to another planet." He made a face. "Sounds simple, doesn't it?"

"Not with super humans involved," Elle said wryly. "This is going to be interesting."

" _You_ are not coming," the captain said.

Elle let out a surprised Pikachu noise. "What? But it's Khan!"

"Exactly," he said sternly. "Even if he accepts the offer to relocate, he'll be looking for our weak points and vulnerabilities. You will be his first and most vulnerable target. I'm not taking any chances and neither is Star Fleet. We're rendezvousing with _Intrepid_ and you're going to stay with them until we're done and we're close enough to pick you up."

"But-"

"No buts, chicken or otherwise," Kirk said, and that was his I Have Decided, My Will Be Done face. "We're meeting them tomorrow morning, 0400, just long enough to transport you over."

Elle sighed. "Yes, sir."

He ruffled her hair. "Cheer up, you love those guys."

"Yeah, but, what if something happens?"

He sobered. "Then it happens, but at least you'll be safe."

She gave him a Look. "You're sending me to a ship that almost got eaten by a giant space amoeba. And then got abducted by Romulan mad scientists. My chances are better here."

"You're not staying."

She sighed again. "Fine."

The comm chimed. "Spock to Captain Kirk."

Kirk tapped the table controls. "Yes, Commander?"

Spock cleared his throat. "Sir, the Intrepid has encountered a gravity well and has gotten trapped... their ETA is now two weeks, three days, as they must execute a slingshot maneuver to extract themselves, which will send them to the recent past."

Kirk sighed. "Of course they did."

Elle grinned. Par for the course for a starship. "I think the universe is trying to tell us something."

"Is it?" Kirk asked dryly. "Spock?"

"There are no other options close enough," Spock replied evenly.

Kirk sighed again. "All right, then. Kirk out." He tapped the control and looked at Elle. "Well, it looks like you will be meeting Khan after all."

She didn't do a victory fist-pump until she was in the turbolift by herself. There was a strong possibility she'd be a pawn in the upcoming battle of wills, but it was probably going to be fine. Did superhumans go after kids in the eugenics wars? It was probably going to be fine. Probably.

She pointedly did not look up anything about that time period.

-/\\-

Rolling up to Ceti Alpha V, tension levels were so high one would think the Enterprise had been ordered to go steal something else from the Romulans.

"That's not funny," Christine Chapel said tiredly.

"It's a little funny," Uhura said.

"A very little," Sulu said.

Spock rolled his eyes.

Elle counted that as a win. This department meeting was too grim.

"Maybe they'll be grateful and won't cause problems," Chekov said.

Everyone in the conference room shot him a pitying look.

"There is a high probability that Khan will attempt to take over this ship, again," Spock said.

Chief Giotto spoke up. "Since the last time, we've reviewed security protocols since then and implemented stricter controls. I'm not going to say there's no way, but I am confident in our ability to override any of their attempts."

Kirk nodded. "Send these to all department heads. While the superhumans are onboard I want security on yellow alert."

"Yes sir. I recommend we also go to four shifts instead of three, as stress levels will rise considerably."

Kirk nodded. "Excellent. Implement as you see fit, Chief."

"Yes, sir."

"And I want aux control staffed at all times," Kirk continued. "They didn't get a look at it last time and I want an ace up our sleeve."

They discussed other measures for "super-proofing" the Enterprise.

"What do you think, Miss 21st Century?" Kirk asked.

Elle looked up. "I think that if Khan wants this ship there's nothing in the galaxy that could stop him. But he won't want this ship. So it's fine."

"Elaborate," Spock said, after a startled silence.

"He plays chess of the brute force kind," Elle said. "The fact that we're showing up to help them out means Star Fleet is aware of them. If they try and take this ship or if they _do_ take this ship, Star Fleet will nave no compunctions about blasting them to smithereens. He won't want that for his people. He wants a planet, an empire. Can't do that if you're dead."

"An empire of super-humans?" Sulu echoed, looking horrified.

Elle waved a hand. "Once Khan dies they'll self-destruct trying to fill the power vacuum, it's fine. And if not, that's future-Fleet's problem."

They stared at her.

"Okay," Kirk said, "no more psychology lessons for you."

"Hopefully she's right, though," Bones said, the purveyor of said psych lessons.

"Can't we just put them back in cryo till we get to their new planet?" Scotty joked.

"Unfortunately not," Kirk said. "But from Ceti Alpha to Oppo Minor is only a week, gentlefolk. We've handled much worse. Brief your teams, prep the security protocols outlined for your departments. We'll make planetfall tomorrow, ship's noon. Dismissed."

Elle looked at Giotto. "What's my security protocol?"

He handed over a PADD. "As Civilian In Charge of Altered Maintenance Equipment-"

"That's not my title," Elle replied.

"-It is now. You give a hoover life, you deal with it-"

Which, fair point.

"-and as such your job is to take the actual knife from Commander Stabby and give him back a prop knife."

Elle blinked. "But wouldn't having a secret weapon to deploy at superhumans be an advantage? I mean, they might be superhuman but getting sliced in the Achilles Heel..." she shrugged expressively. "You can't walk, you can't walk."

Giotto stared at her. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'don't give superhumans easy access to a knife."

She stared back at him. "They have enhanced strength. They don't need knives, they can kill you with their pinkie."

"...True." Giotto took the PADD back. "All right, I guess that finishes that." He signed off on it. "Excellent work."

-/\\-

"This is Captain James T. Kirk calling the colony on Ceti Alpha V," Kirk said, his voice devoid of emotion even though his hands were definitely sweating.

Elle stifled a nervous giggle and leaned on the railing near Spock's chair, trying not to be distracting.

"The great Captain Kirk," said a voice with an Indian accent. "What a pleasant surprise. What brings you to our humble planet?"

Elle froze. Was that him? It didn't sound like the character she knew. But of course, the real Khan wasn't of Hispanic origin. Right?

Kirk replied. "We've been keeping an eye on this solar system, and the planet next to you, Ceti Alpha VI, is dangerously close to leaping its orbit. If that happens your entire colony could be destroyed."

"And that would solve your problem quite nicely," Khan said. "Don't tell me you've come to save us?"

"As a matter of fact, we come with an offer of a new planet," Kirk said. "One that doesn't have rogue sister-planets."

There was a silence on the other end of the comm. "Have you really?" Khan drawled, quite at ease. "I see."

"You are, of course, welcome to stay where you are and take your chances," Kirk said. "As enhanced as you are, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it."

Elle shot him a look.

Khan, on the other end, chuckled. "I'm sure we could, but if your Federation is offering us a free passage to a new land, then why not? We do, of course, have children to think of. On behalf of my people, Captain Kirk, I accept your offer."

"Very well then. We'll arrange for transport when you've finished preparations."

"Understood, captain." The comm channel cut out.

Kirk let out a deep breath. "One interaction down. Lt. Uhura, alert the transporter rooms and security teams to standby."

"Aye, sir."

-/\\-

Elle bounced in her chair nervously. She wriggled around and then stopped. She bit her lip.

"You got ants in your pants or something?" Lt. Kerry asked her.

"No, sorry. I just, they're onboard, right now! I kinda wanna meet them." Elle added a layer of granite to her Minecraft house.

Lt. Kerry shook her head. "You should stay as far away as possible, kiddo. It's not a game."

"I know, I know." Elle wriggled around again and put a granite chunk in the wrong spot. "Oop." She glanced at the clock. "Okay, I need to go to Bio class anyway. See you later!"

"See you, Elle."

The superhumans were being nominally treated as a civilian colony: their things were in the cargo bay, and the families were given the largest guest quarters. The rest of them were in barracks set up in cargo bay 2. It was highly unlikely Elle would even see any of them during the week.

She entered sickbay, and slammed straight into someone's back. "Oof." She stumbled back, shaking her head. "Sorry-" She stared at the knife- the leather vest- the turban- "Excuse me," she said, and edged around Khan Noonien Singh further into sickbay.

He put out his hand, stopped her from advancing. "I am Khan," he said, and gave a short bow of the head. "And you?"

"Elle Wilcott," she replied, bowing her head in reply.

"I didn't know that your starships carried civilians," he said. "Whose child are you?"

"Nobody's," Elle replied. "My parents are gone."

"Ah." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You know who I am?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you fear me?"

She cracked a grin. "Honestly I'm just glad you're not a skinny white British guy."

He raised his eyebrows and unsubtly flexed his massive biceps. "An odd thing to be thankful for."

"I watch a lot of tv," she replied.

"That stuff will rot your brain," he said, which as a person coming from the sixties, was a reasonable thing to say.

"Probably," Elle replied. "Are you okay?"

"My son is having a checkup," Khan replied, and gestured to the nearest biobed, where a redhead was holding a tiny baby.

Dr. McCoy caught sight of Elle and nodded.

Elle took the silent direction. "Scuse me," she told Khan, and walked away from him. She felt his eyes on her back until she turned the corner to the nurses' break room. Hopefully this did not mean another hostage scenario in the near future. Those were getting tiresome.

"Ready for your lesson on the variable nature of spleens?" Chris Chapel asked, distracting Elle from her thoughts.

"Yup!"

-/\\-

Elle left sickbay and almost bumped into the Singh family again in the hallway. "Have a good day," she said, skirting politely around them. She stopped to coo at the fussing baby. "Aw, did someone get a shot?"

The baby stopped fussing a moment and cooed at her, reaching pudgy hands for her loose hair.

She dodged away. "Whoops. No hair pulling, thank you." She gave them an awkward smile. "See you around." She walked away, feeling Khan's eyes on her. She stifled a shiver.

Elle went to Engineering next; she needed to Lt. Matthews' permission to use his five-dimensional simulation with Pavel in their next math class. She passed an empty room.

"- you from, Mr. Scott?"

"Och, well, lad, I was born in Glasgow but I grew up in the Highlands, in a village so small you could walk right through it and not even notice," Scotty said in his best burr.

Elle stopped walking. _What_.

"I stayed there, livin' with mah grandparents, till ah was about ten, then ah moved back t'the city with mah da to work on the ships passin' through."

The new ensign looked suitably impressed. "Since you were ten?"

"Aye, lad. Move along, now. T'engines won't tend themselves."

"Yes, sir!"

Elle stayed frozen, gaping at the open door. Had Scotty just _lied?_ Or, a terrible thought struck her. Had Scotty lied to _her_?

The ensign came out of the room and raised an eyebrow. "Hello," he said. "Looking for Scotty?"

"Uhh-" Elle hurried away, her head spinning. She left engineering and went to find Pavel.

"Ah, Elle, you are early. Do you have Lt. Matthews' simulation?"

She waved it away impatiently. "Pavel, have you ever asked Scotty why his accent's so thick?"

"Of course not," Chekov said. "That would be ridiculous."

She blinked. "Why?"

"I grew up in Russia, I have my accent. He grew up in Scotland, he has his accent."

"Yeah but he grew up speaking English!" Elle pointed out.

"Ah. True. Perhaps you should ask Scotty directly."

"I already did," Elle almost wailed.

"Then ask Hikaru," Chekov suggested. "Or one of the yeomen. You know they know everything."

"True."

"But we will finish our study of five-dimensional space first," Chekov said firmly.

Elle groaned. "Do we have to?"

" _Da_."


	89. Ruminations of Superhumans

"Hey, Sulu?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know why Scotty's accent is so thick compared to everybody else's from Scotland?" Elle asked.

Sulu blinked. "Well he doesn't really like to talk about it," he said.

Elle slid closer to him. "Why?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Where's he from?"

"Well he grew up on Utopia Planitia," Sulu said quietly.

" _Mars!?_ " Elle almost shrieked.

"Shh!" Sulu glanced around the mess hall, but of course no one was paying attention to them. "Yes," he whispered, "but you know that its basically a Scottish colony, all the good engineers are from Scotland. Then he went back to Earth to finish his degree in his family's hometown, and then shipped out into space and never looked back. That's why he adopted the accent. Of course, nobody from Utopia likes to say that they're a colony at all, but you know how Scotty is, kilts and all."

Elle could not believe it. "Is that on his transcript?" she asked.

Sulu gave her an odd look. "Why are you asking?"

She gave him a smile that felt more like a grimace. "No reason."

"Oookay."

-/\\-

Elle had never heard Simba the tribble vocalize anything other than a purr or a squeak. Therefore, when she was awakened in the middle of the night by Simba's frantic squawking, her first thought was " _Klingons!_ "

"Computer, lights!" she called, jumping out of her bed and diving for the comm.

A strong hand caught the back of her pajama shirt and held her in place. "I come in peace," Khan rumbled.

"My tribble says otherwise," Elle snarked, blushing with humiliation at hanging from his grip like a grocery bag. "Put me down."

He set her on the ground. "I want to talk to you," he said.

She made another dive for the comm. "Stranger danger says _no_ ," she said, and _almost_ touched the comm button before he grabbed her upper arms.

"Stop that," he said. "I just wish to talk."

Elle stopped struggling, acutely aware of the fact that he could literally squish her like a bug. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Will you stop trying to escape?"

She bit her lip. "Fine."

He let her go. "Sit," he said.

She walked into the living room and sat on the couch, pulling Simba into her arms to keep it quiet.

Khan sat on the chair across from her. He surveyed her silently for a moment, and then spoke. "You are from the past," he said. "Like we are."

Elle almost choked on a floating tribble hair as she gasped. "Wha-" She coughed. "What?"

"No one in this century knows what tv is," he said.

"They know what television is," she retorted.

He looked at her. "But you are from the past," he said.

She gave him a look. "You're crazy."

"I am the smartest person you will ever meet," he replied.

"Smartest human," she said, unable to stop herself.

He huffed a laugh. "Very well, then. Smartest human you will ever meet. I know what a person out of time looks like. What year are you from?"

She conceded. "2018."

"How did you get here? Stasis, like us?"

"No, it was, I don't know, actually. We still haven't figured that out. Something about quantum signatures." Elle frowned. "Why?"

"What was it like in the 21st century?" Khan asked. "I never got to see it myself."

"Pretty terrible, as a whole," Elle replied. "You're not missing much."

"But I am," he corrected, his eyes lighting up. "Don't you see, Elle? If we had not been taken from our time and place, we could have made everything better-"

Elle started to laugh. She couldn't help it.

Khan stopped, highly offended.

"Man, come on. You weren't _taken_ , you were _kicked off the planet_ by your fellow _humans_ ," Elle said. "And besides, you would make the planet better for who? Your forty-eight buddies and your three kids? How long would perfect genetics last as your people fought amongst themselves and remarried into the normal gene pool?"

"We've learned from our mistakes," Khan said. "I would control them."

"And you'd get assassinated, and then what?" Elle asked. "Botany Bay the Second. Even faster this time. Or you might kick off World War III too early, and then what would happen to this timeline?"

He scowled at her. "You are quick with your answers," he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him, Spock-style. "You think I haven't spent hours and hours thinking about what it would be like if I went back? If things hadn't happened exactly like they've already happened? Time is more fluid, and more fragile, than you think. You'd have to end up in space, again, for the Enterprise to find you, for you to wake up to find yourself here, to think up crazy ideas of taking over the ship and going back in time in the first place."

"I see temporal physics is more common than before," Khan said, looking disgruntled.

"Just take the new planet," Elle advised, trying to play it cool. "You won't get a better offer. Wouldn't you rather be king of a new planet, instead of the old gross one?"

"When you put it that way," Khan said, amused. "Very well then. I suppose we will not take over the Enterprise."

"Thank you," Elle said sincerely.

Khan stood and inclined his head. "I shall leave you to your rest." He gave her a sharp grin. "I trust you will not tell your father of our little chat?"

"Dude, as soon as you leave I'm going to call him," Elle replied frankly. "And he's not my actual father."

He laughed. "Understood." He patted her on the head and left.

Elle deflated, all her bravado leaking out of her ears in one huge, shuddering sigh. "I have never been so close to peeing my pants in sheer fear," she told her tribble, staring up at the ceiling in shocked relief. "He could've smashed my head like a walnut if he wanted to."

Simba cooed reassuringly.

-/\\-

"Elle to Captain Kirk."

A groggy reply. "Kirk here. What's wrong?"

Elle grimaced. "Uh, Khan just stopped by my quarters for a little chat about time travel."

A beat. "WHAT!" Captain Kirk roared, fully awake. "Are you all right?!"

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "I'm fine, I talked him out of it. I think."

There was a distant banging on the door. " _Spock, Elle has a problem. Security to Elle's quarters."_ Another shuffle. "Be there in two seconds," Kirk said, and the channel closed.

Elle hustled to her room and threw her robe on over her pajamas.

Kirk and Spock arrived less than a minute later, Lt. Hernandez on their heels. "What happened?" Kirk asked.

Elle recounted their conversation. She'd never seen the captain's face turn quite that shade of purpley-enraged before, or seen Spock's eyebrows go _quite_ that high. "So yeah," she said.

Lt. Hernandez looked shaken as well. "We've had guards discretely posted on those corridors, there's no way he could've gotten past- and we have no records of their biosigns traveling through the ship past 2100 hours," he said, checking the computer timestamps.

"So they figured out a way to beat the computer's sensors," Kirk said grimly. "Wonderful."

"Are you certain, Elle, that he was convinced to give up his scheme?" Spock asked.

Elle chewed on her lip. Her brain said 'bluff', but her gut said, "Yeah. I think he's done."

"If they've been tampering with the computer, they must've known there was no way we would let them actually have the ship," Kirk said.

Spock nodded.

"I think it's time we had a chat with our guest," Kirk said grimly. "Mr. Spock?"

"Yes, captain." They both stood.

"Lt. I want someone on Elle around the clock until we reach Oppo Minor," Kirk said.

"Aye, sir."

Elle sighed.

Kirk kissed the top of her head. "Go back to sleep. We'll deal with Khan."

"That sentence is not as comforting as you think it is," Elle replied.

-/\\-

Two days passed. No one took over the Enterprise, and Elle didn't notice any time travel changes, so... it was probably fine, right?

"Dude, if you don't stop showing up in a minor's quarters at night, the captain will have you melted into atoms, superhuman or no superhuman," Elle said, resigned to the fact that Khan was smarter than the Enterprise's sensors.

"I am not here for any nefarious purposes, I assure you." He extended a hand to pet Simba.

Simba growled.

Elle's eyes widened. "What did you do to Lt. Hernandez?" She pushed past Khan into the living room. "Is he _dead_!?" She dropped to the floor beside the security officer and felt for a pulse.

"He's fine, he's simply sleeping," Khan said dismissively.

Elle glared up at him. "This is why you're never going to have your so-called empire! With your superior ambition and your superior intelligence and superior head-smushing skills, where's your superior compassion? Your superior love? Your superior humanity? Whoever made your genes was an idiot!" It occurred to her, belatedly, that if Khan took offense and decided to kick her while she was on the ground, she'd die like a watermelon.

Khan stared down at her. "Is that what you've learned, in this century? To yell at people better and stronger than you?"

"No, but that's what I find myself doing anyway!" Elle retorted, scrambling to her feet. "What the chicken nugget is your problem?" _No seriously, Elle, shut up_.

Khan snorted. "Do they even have chicken nuggets in the twenty-third century?"

"No," Elle said. "They were so bad people stopped making them. The closest you get now is crispy chicken tenderloins."

"I see." He folded his arms and tilted his head. "I have decided to take this ship. I want to know if you'll be with me when I do."

Elle gulped. _Not good, not good._ "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"We are meant for something better than carving a life out of a primitive wasteland," Khan replied simply. "With this ship, I will do so."

"You think the captain will let you do it?" Elle asked, folding her arms.

He smiled. "If you tell him to let you, yes."

 _Well he's not wrong_. "Why would I do that?" Elle retorted. "I, for one, enjoy things like diplomacy and civil rights."

"And you will still have those things," Khan said, his tone magnanimous. "But under our direction."

"You're missing the 'serve' part of civil servants," Elle replied.

"You think that your ambassadors and your policy makers do not have their own agendas, their own plans?" Khan asked. "Coming from the past, you cannot be that naive."

Elle scowled at him. The knowledge of Section 31 held her back from making a stinging retort. "You really think the Federation will let you take over, just like that?"

"They will have no choice."

Elle shook her head. "Then people will make their own choices."

"I doubt it."

Elle raised an eyebrow. "Khan, come on, you were part of the eighties and nineties. The most interesting thing was America and Russia. You think you could handle four hundred planets, plus the Klingons, the Romulans, the Gorn, and everyone else out there?" _Do you think that the Aegis would let you get away with anything?_

"I'm sure we could."

"Uh-huh."

"You don't sound convinced. Should I show you the extent of my strength?"

Elle made a face. "Please don't. I've seen the history reels."

Khan grinned. "Then you know I could."

"I know you could," Elle said. "Everybody knows you could. But what would be the point? Do you like being revolutionized again? Literally nobody is going to take a superhuman coup lying down."

"People are sheep," he said. "They can be led."

"Yeah," Elle said. "Unfortunately, better men than you have led them to things like 'selflessness' and 'freedom' and 'self-betterment.' You try and lead them to things like 'genocide' and 'genetic engineering', sheep can trample you, you know."

"You make a good case, Miss Wilcott," he said.

She regarded him. She was tired, her head hurt, she had obstacle course training again in six hours, and there was unconscious lieutenant at her feet. "Look," she said. "You've already done your conquer and rule thing. Why don't you try something else? Get to the colony planet, set up your perfect little empire, and try and discover the meaning to life or the universe or something. Do something that other people will like."

"Why should I?"

"Knowledge is power, I don't know, I'm tired."

Khan bowed, a mocking smile on his face. "You've given me much to think about. Sleep well."

She watched him go. "You show up in my quarters again, I _will_ shoot you in the face," she told him.

He laughed, and was gone.

-/\\-

Surprisingly, this time around, it was Spock who wanted to kick 'em all out an airlock, and the captain who talked him out of it. "Think of the paperwork, commander," Kirk beseeched. "You don't want to do that."

"I could complete the paperwork in a timely manner," Spock said darkly, his eyebrows as furrowed as Vulcan physiognomy allowed.

"No really," Elle added, "I think I talked him out of it. I think he just wants to watch you twitch."

"If he wants to play games, we can give him a chess set," Kirk grumbled.

The Enterprise arrived at Oppo Minor without further incidents. A 3D chess set was included with the supplies the Enterprise gave the budding superhuman colony, "for your edification," Kirk said to Khan, his tone dry as paper.

"My thanks," Khan said, "for a most enjoyable week." He nodded to Spock, and turned to Elle. "If you find you tire of these futuristic pacifists, we could always use a menial servant, someone to watch the baby."

"Thanks," Elle said dryly. "You'll have to parent your own child. Use that superhuman stamina."

Khan chuckled and climbed onto the transporter dais.

"Energize," Kirk said.

The superhumans vanished in a whirl of glitter and sparkles.

"That wasn't so bad," Elle said, pleased, at the same time Kirk said,

"I think I just aged ten years in one week."

Elle snickered.

Thus the transfer of the Botany Bay colony was completed, with no loss of personnel, ships, or expensive prototypes. Elle felt very accomplished.


	90. Requiem for Your Autograph

"Priority Medical Alert. Priority Medical Alert."

That is _not_ what one wishes to hear at 0300 in the morning. Elle opened her eyes and glared at the blinking red light on the computer. "Computer, read alert," she said, and yawned. 

"Alert is as follows: Possible epidemic alert: Rigelian fever. 2 crewmembers have already come down with it. Please see attached timeline for possible exposure. Those who made contacted in the affected areas of the ship must institute Level-1 quarantine procedures. If you have any of the following symptoms report to Sickbay at once-"

"Cancel verbal alert," Elle said, eyes wide. She pulled the list up on her PADD and stared at it. Both of the lieutenants worked in Security; Elle hadn't been with anyone from Security for the last two weeks, since the Khan Incident. The mess hall indicated was one of the lesser-used ones; Elle preferred the larger one with more hustle and bustle.

"Okay," Elle said, scanning through the list of symptoms. "I don't think I overlapped with them at all. And I don't have any of these symptoms, so I think we're fine..."

The comm beeped again. "Priority Medical Alert. Update: 3 more crewmembers has tested positive for Rigelian fever. All non-essential personnel and civilians are now restricted to quarters until further notice. Meals will be provided through the transporter or through medical-grade sterile fields. Repeat. All non-essential personnel and civilians are now restricted to quarters until further notice."

Elle gaped. "Are you kidding?"

"Restate query," the computer said, non-helpfully.

Elle frowned and went back to the reading of the disease. Once you started showing symptoms, you had twenty-four hours to administer the antidote. " _Twenty-four hours?_ " It had already been six hours. Eighteen hours... "Computer, what's the cure for Rigelian fever?"

"The only known cure for Rigelian fever is ryetalin," the computer replied.

There was no ryetalin in stock. It was too rare and too specific in need; nobody needed it, until everybody needed it.

Elle gulped. On a ship there were only two things that truly doomed a crew, be it on the water or in space. Fire, and disease. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide in either case. "Bones must be frantic," she realized.

There was no way she was going back to sleep. She couldn't. She just sat there and watched the little number counter on the screen. It went from 5 to 12 in three more hours.

"This is an episode, or a novel, or something," Elle decided. "There's no way the show wouldn't cover an epidemic, that's too much drama not to." She turned off the computer console and went to sit on the bed, legs folded underneath her as she closed her eyes.

 _Focus. Imagine the surface of a lake. Still all the ripples... now dive..._ In her mind's eye, she went through the episodes of Star Trek. She found The Naked Time, from both the original series and the Next Generation. Not it. She pushed it away. The mutated children's fever from _Uhura's Song_... no. This epidemic was only on the Enterprise, not on colony worlds. She pushed it away.

_"Yes, there's something wrong. The ryetalyn is no good. It contains irillium, nearly one part per thousand."_

_"Irillium will render the antitoxin inert and useless."_

_...garbled faces on a garbled screen. Tiny Elle wiggled with excitement and missed the next part._

_"Jim, what if all the ryetalyn on this planet contains irillium?"_

_"Go with Flint. Keep an eye on procedures."_

Elle's eyes snapped open, her vision sparkling with stars as a headache bloomed to life. "Flint," she said aloud. "The immortal human." She shook her head, wincing as her temples spiked with pain. "Ow. Note to self, do not throw yourself out of meditation next time, stupid-head." She rubbed at her forehead and whacked the comm with the other hand. "Elle to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here." That was fast, he must've been awake. "Please tell me you have something, Elle."

"Yes, captain. This is an episode."

"All right. Lay it out for me."

"There's ryetalin on a planet in the Omega system, enough for everyone to receive the cure. But a six-thousand-year-old human lives there and he's prickly about having company so we have to deal with that. And you can't go down to the surface or fall in love with his perfect android who becomes human."

Kirk made a noise that sounded like a cross between a wheeze and a hairball of outrage. " _WHY WOULD I THINK OF ROMANCE IN AN EPIDEMIC?"_ he demanded, maxing out the audio speakers.

"I don't know, it was the sixties," Elle protested.

He sighed. "All right. The Omega system, you said?"

"Yes."

"Okay. If you don't have anything else I have to set a course. Stay alert so we can check in for clarifying details. If you feel _any_ symptoms, comm Sickbay right away, understood?"

"Yes, sir." Elle signed off the comm and sat back. The counter in the corner of the screen flipped up to sixteen. She turned off the screen.

-/\\-

The update came in the next hour. The Enterprise would reach the Omega system in eighteen hours.

Give it eighteen hours for transit, another four hours for gathering the ryetalin and making the cure, two hours to disperse it to everyone.

Elle's eyes widened. That meant it was already too late for at least five people, maybe ten. She buried her face in her pillow. It wasn't fair.

-/\\-

A bowl of oatmeal and a bowl of fruit beamed into Elle's quarters at 0700, with regards from the kitchens.

Elle ate the splodgy oatmeal and the bowl of fruit with a foreboding sense of doom.

The feeling didn't go away. She had no essential task, no permission to leave her quarters. She resembled a hamster in a cage as she migrated from the couch, to the bed, to the floor, to the desk, to the couch, each second knowing that crewmembers were getting sick, that the timer was ticking down.

Eighteen hours had never felt so long.

By the time they reached orbit around Holberg Nine One Seven G, two-hundred and thirty people had been confirmed with Rigelian fever.

"Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and Lt. Mendelson will go down to the planet to gather the ryetalin," Kirk said over the video conference.

Lt. Mendelson was a historian who'd taken a single course in Security. Elle snorted. If Flint really was down there, and he really was a six-thousand-year-old human, the captain was taking no chances.

"If scans are correct and the ryetalin is on the surface, we will be back in four hours," Spock added.

"And if there really is someone down there with processing facilities, hopefully even less time," McCoy said.

"Then go ahead," Kirk said. "We'll hold the fort."

"Aye, sir."

"Elle, stay a second."

Elle waited as everyone but the captain logged off the video conference. "Yes, sir?"

He looked solemn, his eyes shadowed from too much caffeine and no sleep. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine, I guess. Worried. Why? Can I help?"

"We're running out of personnel," Kirk said.

Elle turned white. "Like, _dead_ , or-"

"No, no, I'm sorry, just sick." He frowned. "But Sulu's just come down with it, and every single one of our pilots is already sick. We're down to basically skeleton crew, and five people already are showing symptoms. They'll stay at their posts until Spock reports in from the surface, but we need someone to sit on the helm."

Elle almost choked. "WHAT."

"I have to stay focused, I can't babysit the console. Sulu's been training you, hasn't he?"

Elle sputtered inarticulately. "On the, the, on the _video game simulator_ , not an _actual ship,_ I can't even get my shuttle license yet-"

"The simulator that Sulu used to run against the Klingons during our prototype testing?"

"Yeah..."

"Elle, that's become the primary flight simulator at the Academy. If you've run it for longer than eighty hours, you can pilot the real Enterprise just fine. And according to my chart, you've run it well over three hundred hours." He sounded amused.

Elle blushed hotly. "Sulu put a rainbow road on there, I've been trying to beat that level."

He huffed a tired laugh. "Then you're qualified to babysit the console in orbit around a planet." He grinned at her, eyes twinkling with full Kirk charisma. "Don't tell me you wouldn't want this opportunity? To fly the _Enterprise_?"

"Don't smirk," Elle grumbled, unable to stop herself from grinning. "Of course I do. But if we die its your fault."

"I'll take full responsibility," he promised. "Signal the transporter room when you're ready. We're doing site-to-site beaming to reduce the risk of infection."

"Understood." She bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

"Well it's either you or one of the nurses."

"Ah." Elle took a deep breath. "Okay."

He nodded. "You have two minutes."

"Yes, sir." Elle turned off the computer. She grabbed the pillow off her bed, shrieked into it for a full twenty seconds, and put the pillow down. "Okay. I can do this. Needs must, right? It's an epidemic. I can stare at a console for a few hours, it's not that hard."

She put her shoes on, tied her hair out of her face as per regulations, and commed the transporter room.

"Energizing in three, two, one," Chief Kyle said.

Elle materialized on the bridge. Only Kirk, Chekov, and Lt. M'Ress, Uhura's shift relief, were on the bridge. Scotty was down in Engineering with the few remaining holdouts.

Kirk grinned at her and steered her over to the helm. "Have a seat."

Elle sat gingerly in the helm. Her feet dangled and she was still too short to see the full board. That was awkward.

Kirk smothered a laugh. "You can adjust it to your height," he said. "Lever's under the chair."

She made minute adjustments until she was ready to go.

Kirk patted her on the head. "There you go. Now just holler if anything flashes."

She gave him a shaky thumbs-up and contemplated the console. Everything was at standard levels for geosynchronous orbit, positioned over the largest deposit of ryetalin. The only finicky point was that Holberg Nine One Seven G was more of a planetoid, not an actual planet, so there were gravity wells to take into account. The computer handled this, but it was always good to keep an eye on it.

Lt. M'Ress sighed after a moment. "I do not like this feeling," she said. "It makes my fur stick up."

"Only a few more hours, lieutenant," Kirk said.

"Yes, sir." Lt. M'Ress side-eyed Elle in a friendly fashion. "We haven't met yet, ensign...?"

"This is Elle," Chekov said, "our resident civilian."

"Oh," M'Ress said. "You're the one they were talking about. I thought you looked a little young for a human crewmember. You're just a kit."

Elle grinned sheepishly. "Yes. Hi. I saw you at the party the other day but I didn't get to say hi."

"A pleasure," M'Ress said. "Are you going to become a pilot?"

"I don't know," Elle said, "I haven't decided yet. Maybe."

"You said you wanted to be an archaeologist," Kirk said.

"That was last week when we were reading King Solomon's Mines," Elle said, waving it away. "My childhood dream was to become an astronaut, but..." She gestured to the main viewport. "I kind of already accomplished that."

"When I was four, I wanted to be a ballerina," Chekov said wistfully.

Kirk smiled. "Did you ever take lessons?"

"For a couple years, but I changed my mind to Star Fleet when my uncles finished their tours and came back with amazing stories."

They chatted about childhood dreams ("I wanted to be a farmer for exactly zero days of my life," said Kirk, which surprised absolutely nobody), and then they drifted into silence.

Elle swept the board again. All green, no differences. She glanced across to the nav and sensors and sat up. "The planet's giving off some pretty big power signatures," she said.

"They must've found your mysterious Mr. Flint," Kirk said, getting up to check the board himself.

The comm board beeped. "Enterprise here," the captain said, when M'Ress signaled channel open.

"Spock here, captain," Spock said. "We have met a person named Flint. He has allowed us the use of his laboratory and processing facilities to refine the ryetalin. It has no trace of irillium or any other mineral that may render it inert."

"Time factor?" Kirk asked.

"Two hours, captain."

"Very well. Anything else?"

"No, sir. Just some interesting decor."

Kirk nodded. "Keep us apprised. Enterprise out."

Elle chewed on her lip. "I hope he and Mendelson are recording everything they can get their eyes on." And Spock hadn't mentioned any girls at all. Was Rayna the product of the sixties' television? Or was Flint really working on creating the perfect companion?

"Two hours," Kirk said, shaking his head. "It'll be down to the wire."

-/\\-

One hour, forty minutes later, Spock, McCoy and Lt. Mendelson beamed back up, along with three canisters full of processed ryetalin. McCoy and canisters beamed directly to sickbay, Spock and Mendelson directly to the bridge for debrief.

Spock saw Elle sitting at the helm and both eyebrows went up.

"How'd it go?" Kirk asked. "Any problems?"

"None," Spock said. "The inhabitants of the planet are Flint, several droids, and a woman named Rayna who is his adopted daughter. Once he was assured of our sincerity, Flint was everything gracious. There were several fascinating artifacts however, which will make for further study."

"Brahms," Mendelson whispered reverently. "And Da Vinci."

Kirk smothered a grin. "Once the crisis is past I'll expect a full report."

"Yes, sir."

Elle shot finger guns. "Noice."

Within two hours, every single person on the Enterprise received the cure for Rigelian fever. Out of the four-hundred and fifty-seven crewmembers, only fourteen did not catch the fever.

Seven dead, forty-one still in critical condition.

"It could've been worse," Kirk said soberly. "It could've been a lot worse. Excellent work, Doctor McCoy. You and your staff deserve the highest of commendations."

"Darn tootin'," was McCoy's elegant response.

The captain closed the channel to sickbay and turned to Elle. "And you, are now relieved of duty. You may go have dinner."

Elle stood up and gave a casual salute. "Cool. Let's never do that again."

Chekov laughed. "Now we will have you study for ops stand-in, yes? Or perhaps engineering?"

"No," Elle protested, "it's too much responsibility, I need a nap."

Kirk laughed. "Go on."


	91. The Audacity

"I cannot believe six hippies managed-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Elle stifled a giggle. "I even _warned_ -"

"Elle, I _do not_ want to talk about it." 

She cackled hysterically as the captain of the Enterprise sat there, pouting at the fact that six hippies had managed to hijack the flagship. Granted, one of the hippies was actually a renowned scientist and genius, but still.

Elle gave a final snigger and sighed. "No seriously though, captain, they weren't even good hippies. Looking for Eden. Doctor What's-his-name should've known that Eden is Earth, not some sort of wacko uninhabited planet."

Kirk tilted his head and regarded her curiously. "Why do you think Eden is on Earth?"

"Well it's obvious," Elle said, waving a hand.

"From a vaguely Western religious background I get the general concept but why are you so adamant that it's Earth?"

Elle frowned at him. "Well the proto-race that dropped humanity on the planet obviously thought it was paradise, or they wouldn't have picked it."

Kirk stared at her. "The _proto-race_?"

"The ones that seeded this galaxy with bipedal species," Elle said.

"What."

"The," Elle faltered. "Oh, it was with Picard, never mind."

"No, now you said it, you have to explain it," Kirk said, shaking his head. "What?"

"That's why humans, Klingons, Vulcans, Cardassians, whatever-ans, and all the other humanoid species can reproduce with minimal or no genetic tinkering," Elle said. "We're all related, making up one massive, varied humanoid species. Highly-curated chunks of genome all split up and seeded throughout the galaxy. We had to come from somewhere, another older part of the universe, and this galaxy had enough livable planets, or they terraformed well enough, to put humans on Earth." She grinned. "It's one of my favorite episodes, just because of the expressions of disgust on everyone's faces. They all figured it out together, intergalactic archaeology on a massive scale, and everybody agreed to just forget about it because nobody wanted to admit it." She sniggered. "Ah, that was a great episode."

Kirk still hadn't said anything. Hadn't even moved.

"Captain? You okay?" Elle poked his arm. "Are you broken?"

"We," Kirk said, with some dignity, after another few seconds, "are going to pretend this conversation never happened. Except for a small mention to Spock, we are going to leave this discovery to the future captain of the Enterprise."

Elle grinned. "Yes, sir."

-/\\-

" _Another_ plague?" Elle asked.

"Botanical, this time," Sulu said tiredly. "Agricultural antibiotics caused a species of bacteria on Merak II to take over the entire ecological system." He pulled up the information on it. "How would you handle this crisis?"

"I'm assuming we're not going to just evacuate the planet?" Elle asked.

"No. The mission is to stop the plague itself."

"Burn it with fiyahhhhh," Elle said dramatically, waving her hands in the air.

Sulu snorted. "No."

"Sulu, you are no fun."

"Don't be mean to me or I won't teach you how to fence blindfolded," he retorted.

"Okay, okay," Elle said, sitting up straight and reading through the material. "There is one compound that acts as a bactericide but it's only found on... Ardana, which is in the same system, so that makes sense. Zenite... that could kill a lot of things, not just bacteria." She looked up the Enterprise's current course heading. "So we're heading there straightaway."

"Yes, we are. Good job." Sulu ruffled her hair. "You're getting the hang of these analyses."

"I _am_ the mission consultant," Elle pointed out. "Gotta actually do my job."

"Cool. Then you can read this." He dropped a PADD in her hands. "The history of Ardana and its admittance into the Federation."

Elle made a face. "Ewww, prepackaged reports are so dry..."

He laughed at her with zero sympathy. "There are no jokes in official reports."

"Yet," Elle said, with both promise and threat in her tone. "There's only a few more months till I turn sixteen and then HQ won't know what hit them."

Sulu shook his head. "I can't wait."

-/\\-

Elle read through the packet on her lunch break. It was, as promised, a dry rendition of Ardana's history and admittance into the Federation, as well as it's proposed twenty-year plan to improve itself on the civil rights front...

"They literally have slaves," Elle said, walking onto the bridge in high dudgeon. "This is the Cloud City from that one episode. They _literally have slaves_ \- who let them into the Federation?"

Sulu and Chekov exchanged credits. "Told you she'd find it," Sulu said, pleased.

Elle paused. "Huh?"

"That's why they sent us," Kirk said, smothering a grin. "Otherwise they would've had a science vessel pick up the zenite."

"The xeno-botanists realized that zenite particulates suppress higher brain-functions," Sulu said. "They appealed to the Federation to recheck Ardana's policies. Our visit takes out two birds with one stone."

"Oh." Elle sighed. "Okay. I guess I don't have to warn you not to get kidnapped by the miners then, right? And not to listen to a thing the rich people have to say?"

"No, you do not," Spock said.

"Okay, cool." Suddenly deprived of purpose, she wandered over to Spock's station. "So why are you studying the zenite already?"

"As soon as we arrive we must gather firsthand evidence of the harm it does and attempt to reverse its effects as soon as possible," Spock said. "Perhaps you could continue your studies with the joint biochemistry and geology team. Your knowledge of this episode may allow us to confirm several hypotheses."

Elle knew a gentle dismissal when she heard one. "Yes, sir."

-/\\-

"Studying some cooooooool rocks while my captain goes and deals with social injuuuuustice," Elle sang absently, twirling in her chair while she waited for the microscope to recalibrate.

"That's our theme song," the geologist next to her agreed.

Apparently Kirk and the Prime Minister did get into a fistfight at some point, but Elle missed it. She was too busy helping Requisitions manufacture filtration masks. "All that art and shiny stuff and they don't have face mask filters?" Elle grumbled under her breath. "What do they do when they spray their toxic art fixatives? Just die?"

Commander Chanax snorted. "It's called holding your breath and opening a window," he said.

"That never works."

Suffice to say, they traded the filters for the already-mined zenite. Took the zenite to the plague planet, dispersed it, and promptly returned to Ardana to chew out the High Advisor and his elitist council while on conference comms with the Federation Bureau of Industrialisation. It was satisfying on so many levels.

Elle took notes of how many times Kirk managed to insult the High Advsor's intelligence without him being aware of it. Now _that_ was a useful skill.


	92. What Lies Behind the Curtain of Savagery

"If I may be so vulgar," Elle said, wrinkling her nose at the planetary scans, "what a dump."

Kirk almost spit out his coffee. "Come on now, Elle, not every planet can be M-class," he rebuked mildly. "Lava fields have their own kind of beauty."

Elle huffed. "I've seen Revenge of the Sith too many times, lava fields just make me sad."

Kirk snorted. "Good to know." 

Sulu cleared his throat and punched the all-call on his console. "All observation stations, take final readings. This'll be our last orbit."

"Spock, any answers?" Kirk asked, turning to his first officer.

"I still read a suggestion of carbon cycle life forms on the planet surface, Captain," Spock said, his eyebrows quirking in the way that meant 'there's-a-mystery-here-and-I-don't-like-it.'

"Which is scientifically impossible under conditions there," Kirk pointed out.

Spock's eyebrow quirk turned into a frown. "Agreed. Mister Sulu, switch to the planet area I have under observation."

"I'm reading it now, Mister Spock. It seems to indicate artificial power being generated in factor seven quantities."

"Which would indicate a considerable civilisation there," Spock mused.

McCoy snorted. "What's all this poppycock about life forms on this planet, Spock? The surface is molten lava. The atmosphere is poisonous."

Spock gave a one-eyebrow shrug. "Our readings could be false, Captain, perhaps caused by some natural phenomena."

"Well I think Starfleet should forget about those old space legends. There's no intelligent life here," McCoy said dismissively.

"Lieutenant, anything from the planet?" Kirk asked.

Uhura shook her head. "I've repeatedly tried on every hailing frequency, sir. There's no response on any channel."

"Spock, do you think it's worth sending down a shuttle team or two for closer observation?" Kirk asked.

"Unnecessary sir. I am not certain that our shuttles would hold up to the corrosive atmosphere, and I have no wish to risk personnel on myths and legends."

"Myths and legends," Elle said slowly, "what myths?" She hung off the rail, kicking her feet. "Are we talking dragons?" she questioned. "Space dragons?"

"Nothing so exciting," Kirk said ruefully. "Just old spacer's tales, ships going missing near here, certain readings like these level-seven energy ghosts."

"Hmm. Shy space dragons?" Elle suggested.

"If you really want to see dragons remind me to take you to the zoo on Lactra VII," Kirk said. "I think we're done here. Transmit to Starfleet our sensor readings and log entries on the planet. Surface conditions make it impossible for us to beam down and investigate further. We are therefore going on to our next assignment. Mr. Sulu, prepare to warp us out."

"Aye sir," the two officers chorused.

As Sulu input the new coordinates, the Red Alert flashed once and all the lights on the bridge dimmed.

"Report," Kirk snapped, the easygoing atmosphere on the bridge vanishing in a split second.

"We're being scanned, Captain," Spock replied.

The lights came back up, and the viewscreen changed from the view of the planet to...

"Abraham Lincoln?" Elle said aloud, jaw dropping. "Oh _no_."

Abraham Lincoln did not appear to be phased by their disbelief. "Captain Kirk, I believe. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

Kirk turned sharply to Elle. "Is this-"

She shook her head. "Copy."

"Do I gather that you recognize me?" Lincoln asked pleasantly.

"I recognize what you appear to be," Kirk said, cautious.

"And appearances can be most deceiving, but not in this case, James Kirk. I am Abraham Lincoln."

"You _think_ you are Abraham Lincoln," Elle said under her breath.

Kirk's eye twitched as he registered her whisper.

Elle moved over to Spock's console, looking for... "There," she said, pointing.

Spock's eyebrow went up. "Sir. An area of one thousand square kilometers has just appeared on the planet. It measures completely Earth-like, down to the specific nitrox ratio."

"You will be over my position in twelve minutes," Faux-Lincoln said. "I'm sure you have ways to establish my identity, no?"

"We'd be honoured to have you aboard, Mister President," Kirk said slowly. "Twelve minutes, then."

Lincoln inclined his head in a gracious nod, and disappeared from the screen.

Everyone turned to Elle. "What in the Sam Hill?" McCoy asked, epitome of eloquence.

"This is an episode," Elle said again. "A really dumb one."

"As they seem to be, lately," Kirk said. "What are we dealing with?"

"Sentient rocks who don't understand the concepts of good and evil, and they want to test it with us. Or rather, you and Spock. So they create good guys and bad guys, and down there you fight it out, win, and convince the rocks to let you come back to the ship. Surak shows up at some point but he's not real, either. Or something like that. It was a stupid episode and I only watched it once." Elle grimaced. "Sorry."

"Sentient rocks, like the Horta?" McCoy asked. "Or the _na'mdihei_ Lia's always talking about?"

Elle shook her head. "They live in this dimension but they don't have the morals of the Horta. They want to know more about humanity, but they don't know how to do it."

"Hence the mock arena," Kirk said.

"Yes, sir." Elle chewed on her lip. "What are you going to do about Abraham Lincoln?"

"Well if he doesn't know he's not real, I guess we'll have him over for dinner and wait for these sentients to make their next move," Kirk decided. "Elle, would you like to meet Abraham Lincoln?"

"Not if you're gonna make me wear a dress."

Kirk snorted. "You may wear your nicest formal slacks, if you like."

"Fine." Elle straightened up. "Guess I'll go fix my hair, then, if we're gonna meet a president."

She went to clean up, change into a grey two piece suit, and braid her hair. Was this president-worthy? Probably not. Was this sentient-rock-illusions worthy? More than. Was this representative of good versus evil, or whatever they wanted to test? Elle stared at herself in the mirror. Grey. Was there some symbolism in the color? _Maybe_.

-/\\-

Elle went to the captain's dining room at the appointed time and found them already assembled there.

"Mr. President, may I introduce the Enterprise's civilian consultant? Eleanor Wilcott, Abraham Lincoln," Kirk said, his full charisma on display.

"A pleasure," Elle said, shaking hands with the Faux-Lincoln.

He bowed over her hand. "What a charming girl," he said. "A pleasure to meet you, child."

They ate, and Elle amused herself with thinking of Lincoln's digestive system like a series of rock-smashers, unless the rock-people had also managed to replicate a human digestive tract.

"I would ask, captain, that you, Mr. Spock, and this young lady here beam down to the planet with me," Abraham Lincoln said, and there it was. The bait.

"Wait, I'm invited?" Elle blurted, interrupting McCoy's sputter of outrage.

"Of course," Lincoln said. "You are the consultant, are you not?"

"Civilians do not usually accompany first contact parties," Kirk said diplomatically. "As Miss Wilcott's legal guardian, I have to decline on her behalf."

"I understand," Lincoln said graciously. "But you and Mr. Spock?"

Kirk deferred the answer until after desert. While Uhura distracted Faux-Lincoln with the marvels of subspace communication, he gathered his senior officers and Elle in the other corner. "Well?" he said. "Do we take this opportunity for first-contact?"

"We have been invited," Spock said, "I see no reason to deny it."

McCoy gaped at them. "That planet down there is _poisonous_. If they really do have control over matter, what's to stop them from reverting their little playground down there back into _molten lava_?"

"They wouldn't," Elle said, "they want to see this play out."

"I dinnae think it's a good idea to have both captain and first officer off-ship," Scotty said firmly.

"Objections noted," Kirk said. "But there is something exciting about being asked to participate in a drama of good versus evil."

"If you wanted drama you should've gone into drama school, not command," McCoy retorted, which Elle felt was highly hypocritical coming from a man who swore in two-hundred-year-old Southernisms.

"I have the feeling they could bring us down there themselves," Kirk said. "And I won't risk the damage to the Enterprise if they feel like forcing us to play in their little experiment."

"I still dinna like it," Scotty said.

Kirk nodded. "Your concerns are noted and appreciated, gentlemen. Spock?"

"I will beam down with you, sir."

"Very well then."

Elle went with them to the transporter room.

Kirk and Spock joined Lincoln on the dais, phasers and tricorders at the ready. "All right, Mr. Scott, energize," Kirk said.

"Aye sir." Scotty initiated the transport.

Elle watched in frozen horror as the Enterprise melted out of her vision. She blinked, and she was standing on the surface of a planet, looking up at an acrid orange sky. "Captain!"

Kirk, Spock, and Abraham Lincoln materialized a second later in the familiar sparkle of the Enterprise transporter. "Elle- what-"

"I don't know, I was just here-" Elle waved her hands wildly. "They just took me!" _I have literally been abducted by aliens..._

"And our tricorders and phasers did not beam down with us," Spock said gravely.

Kirk shook his head, anger tightening his eyes. "Kirk to Enterprise." The communicator crackled noisily. "Enterprise, come in." Nothing.

Spock studied his own communicator. "Undamaged, yet something is preventing them from functioning."

Elle scouted the area as Kirk interrogated Abraham Lincoln. The sentient rocks were around here somewhere... "I could really go for a tricorder right now," she grumbled, "or the Force."

"Despite the seeming contradictions, all is as it appears to be. I am Abraham Lincoln," Faux-Lincoln said.

"Just as I am whom I appear to be," Surak said, popping out of thin air.

Elle let out a yelp and went to stand behind Spock.

"Surak," Spock said, surprised.

" _The_ Surak?" Kirk asked.

"Indeed," Spock said.

Kirk glared. "We'll not go along with these charades any longer."

A nearby rock changed into a creature with heavy fore-claws. "You'll have an answer soon, Captain. Our world is called Excalbia. Countless who live on this planet are watching. Before this drama unfolds, we give welcome to the ones named Kirk and Spock and Elle."

"What do you mean, drama about to unfold?" Kirk asked. "We did not agree to this."

"You're an intelligent life form, but I'm surprised you do not perceive the honour we do you. Have we not created in this place on our planet a stage identical to your own world?"

"We perceive we were invited to come here, and we came in friendship," the captain said sharply. "And you have deprived us of our instruments to examine your world, to defend ourselves, to communicate with our vessel."

The Excalbian shifted. "Your objection is well taken. We shall communicate with your vessel so your fellow life forms may also enjoy and profit from the play. Behold." They gestured with a heavy claw. Four more people appeared out of thin air. "Some of these you may know through history. Genghis Khan, for one. And Colonel Green, who led a genocidal war early in the 21st century on Earth. Zora, who experimented with the body chemistry of subject tribes on Tiburon. Kahless the Unforgettable, the Klingon who set the pattern for his planet's tyrannies. We welcome the vessel Enterprise to our solar system and to our spectacle. We ask you to observe with us the confrontation of the two opposing philosophies you term good and evil. Since this is our first experiment with Earthlings, our theme is a simple one. Survival, life and death. Your philosophies are alien to us, and we wish to understand them and discover which is the stronger. We learn by observing such spectacles."

"What do you mean, survival?" Kirk asked.

"If you survive, you return to your vessel. If you do not, your existence is ended."

"You would condemn an innocent child in this?" Kirk demanded. "Send Elle back to the ship. She has no part in this drama."

"She has the largest part," the Excalbian replied. "She is the young, the malleable. She and ones like her determine what is good and evil once you are gone, captain."

Nobody moved. Elle glanced from the "bad guys" to the captain and back.

"Why do you hesitate? Do you wish further clarification?" the Excalbian asked. "Your choice of action is unlimited, as is your choice of weapons. Should you wish to use any, you may fabricate anything you desire out of what you can find around you. Captain?"

Kirk lifted his chin. "We refuse to participate."

"You will decide otherwise," the Excalbian said with finality in its tone, and morphed back into a lump of rock.

"Spock, why would they want us to fight?" Kirk asked.

"It may be exactly as explained, Captain. Our concept of good and evil is strange to them. Perhaps they wish to determine which is strongest."

Elle edged away to look at the group of bad guys. They stared back at her. She turned back to look at Abraham Lincoln and Surak. "Nah," she said.

"Elle?" Kirk asked, looking over at her.

"Excuse me?" Elle called, stepping away from the cluster of recreated people towards the lumps of rock that she _knew_ were sentient. "Excuse me, Excalbians? You're doing it wrong."

"Elle," Kirk hissed, "what are you doing? _Get back here._ "

"They're doing it wrong," Elle insisted. "It's flawed."

One of the rocks transformed into an Excalbian. "Explain," it demanded.

Elle crossed her arms. "This isn't good versus evil. Besides, Kahless and Genghis Khan aren't even evil to begin with, and these other two aren't fully-fleshed out beings with their own motivations. And Lincoln and Surak are taken from Kirk and Spock's minds, they're not whole people either. There's no point to this drama."

The Excalbian scowled with its craggy features. "I am disappointed. You display no interest in the honour we do you. We offer you an opportunity to become our teachers by demonstrating whether good or evil is more powerful."

"You can't simulate those conditions," Elle said.

"Then we will give you something to fight for," the Excalbian said. "Captain, you may now communicate with your ship."

Kirk grabbed his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise, come in."

"Scott here," came the distracted reply.

"Scotty, beam us up fast."

"I cannot. We have complete power failure. We're on emergency battery power only."

"What happened?" Kirk asked, aghast.

"I cannae explain it, sir, but the matter and antimatter are in red zone proximity. The shielding is breaking down. I estimate four hours before it goes completely. Four hours before the ship blows up."

The Excalbian spoke up. "The estimate is quite correct. Your ship will blow itself to bits within four hours, Captain, unless you defeat the others before then. Is that cause enough to fight for?"

"What if they defeat us?" Kirk asked.

"To save your ship and your crew, you have to win."

Elle huffed. "That's still a flawed premise!"

"How?" the Excalbian demanded.

"Well do you want to understand good versus evil or survival versus death? If we're fighting for the lives of our ship and our crew, that's the fight of desperation. What do you expect from us, other than we'll fight with our whole hearts? There no fight of good versus evil when we fight against these illusions. Just survival against whatever kind of amoral tricks you possess."

The Excalbian regarded her for a long moment. "You make good points," they said. "What conditions do you suggest we simulate?"

"You can't simulate good versus evil," Elle replied. "You can only watch as it happens."

"We wish to understand it," the Excalbian said. "Help us understand it."

Elle bit her lip and glanced back at the captain and Spock, but they didn't say anything. "It's... good versus evil. It's motivation. It's why are you willing to go as far as you go?"

"You cannot answer a question with more questions."

"She means-" Kirk started, but the Excalbian raised a claw.

"We wish to hear from the young one," the Excalbian said. "She does not have dogma instilled in her mind."

Elle shook her head. "If you're as old and advanced as we think you are, you should know what good versus evil is. Good is selflessness, love that allows you to let go, things that make you and others happy. Evil is selfishness for selfishness sake, doing things that hurt people and being happy about it. It's like," she huffed a desperate laugh. "Have you ever seen Star Wars? It's like that. But it happens on a small scale, every day, every choice we make. For humans, it's choosing to rise above the inherent savagery. For Vulcans, it's choosing to actively make peace. For Klingons, it's fighting for honor." She glared at the lumps of rock around them. "But playing with the lives of other sentients is _wrong_. You should know that by now. If you can't learn things peacefully, with all the technology at hand, then you don't deserve to learn it."

"Perhaps," the Excalbian said placidly. They waved a claw, and the illusionary people disappeared. "We have things to discuss. You may go."

Elle blinked, and she, Kirk, and Spock were standing in the transporter room, covered in dust and smelling of burnt rock.

Chief Kyle gaped at them from across the console. "Uh, Bridge? We have the captain, Mr. Spock, and Elle," he said. "They just appeared."

"Oh thank the Great Bird," Scotty sighed over the comm. "Captain, are ye all right?"

"We're fine," Kirk said, after a moment. "Heading up in a moment. Get us out of orbit, Mr. Scott."

"Aye, sir, right away."

Elle sagged in relief as the Enterprise jumped into warp. "So, since we didn't have to fight and nobody died, does that mean I get a raise?"

Kirk swept her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "You can have all of it, a raise, the credit, the honor of giving me my first patch of grey hairs, that was _excellent_. I'm so proud of you, you're becoming a beautiful negotiator, but please don't do that again."

Elle smiled into his shoulder. "I'll try my best."

He stepped back, still holding onto her shoulders, and gave a fond, exasperated sigh. "One day, so-called superior species will stop testing us, right?"

Elle thought of Q, and snickered. "We can only hope," she said.

The three of them headed to the bridge. "Regarding your use of Star Wars as an appropriate metaphor," Spock said, after a second, "it may be wise to quarantine the planet against further visits. It would not do to encounter a Sith or a Jedi in the next simulation."

Kirk's eyes widened. "Good idea, Mr. Spock."

Elle waved a hand. "Wide-beam heavy stun," she said. "Takes 'em right out."

Kirk's expression turned to amusement. "Have you been playing lightsabers, Elle?"

" _No_ ," Elle said, in the tone that meant _Yes, duh, of course I have when there's a lightsaber option in phaser tag and of course I used it and of course I got shot in the foot by an ensign in Anthropology which was embarrassing_. "I just think that a phaser charge can outlast anybody's stamina, Force-powers or not."

"I see," Kirk said, rubbing a hand over his mouth.

"It's not funny," Elle said mutinously.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Of course it isn't. It's a serious matter, defending ourselves from evil and arguing with superior races."

"Maybe I should go into diplomacy after all," Elle mused, glancing sideways at Spock.

"I am sure my father will be overjoyed," he deadpanned.

Elle giggled.


	93. Fragments of a Week

"Ok, how does that feel?" Elle asked.

Commander Stabby rotated his wheels and rolled forwards. It lowered the single bell and rolled forward again. The bell dinged merrily. He raised the bell and traveled around again. "Acceptable," he reported. "Thanks are given."

"You're welcome," Elle said, amused. "That's the end of your routine maintenance, so you can go."

"That is all," Commander Stabby confirmed, and toodled away.

"Is that a good idea, adding a stealth option to a knife-toting hoover?" Lt. Commander Dahl asked, finishing an oil change on one of Commander Stabby's brethren.

"Easier to sneak up on an intruder," Elle suggested.

-/\\-

"Dear Lady Amanda, I successfully negotiated my first peaceful release of the Enterprise from a supposedly superior species. It was absolutely terrifying and I don't know how Sarek and the captain do it all the time. This is why Bones is always harping on the captain about his blood pressure." Elle stopped to giggle. She composed herself and continued recording. "We're back on supernova-charting, which Spock is really excited about. You can tell from the wrinkle next to his eye. I'll try and snap a picture next time he's smiling."

She attached a couple of essays she'd written, and the compressed file of holos and snapshots she'd compiled of Spock, Kirk, and Bones over the last month. Spock knew that Elle was sending his mom potentially embarrassing pictures, but he never said anything (which meant tacit approval).

Elle sent the subspace email and moved on to her next contact. This was a video file.

"Hey Peter! How's the farm? How's the baby cow? And you need to send me pictures of the baby chickens. Your uncle says hi, and he's sending you something so keep an eye out for it. Okay, so in our Minecraft game, I found a crystal cavern, which subspace lag won't let me send you the coordinates so I'm sending them on here because you _need_ this diamond armor..."

She finished her video and added a picture of Kirk mid spit-take at one of Scotty's jokes. That was an appropriately uncle-like image, right? She sent it.

-/\\-

"Another day, another supernova," Elle cheered. "Who brought the popcorn?"

"No lightshow just yet," Kirk said, smothering a grin. "We still have three hours, and Beta Niobe has an M-class planet we need to check on."

"At last survey, Sarpeidon was not warp-capable," Spock added.

Kirk frowned. "How many people on that planet?"

"Numbering in the millions, sir," Spock said. His eyebrows went up. "Preliminary scans show... sir, scans show _no_ intelligent life on the planet."

"None?" Kirk asked, coming over to peer at the readout himself. "Where'd they go? Mass suicide?"

"We would see the biomatter," Spock said. "They have disappeared."

Elle frowned. "Sarpeidon... Sarpeidon... this sounds familiar..."

"Another episode?" Chekov said.

"I think so..." Elle tapped her palm against her forehead, trying to remember. "Ugh, I need more context. I can't remember."

"We only have three hours," Kirk said. "Spock?"

"Elle, may I assist you in finding the memory?" Spock asked formally.

Elle nodded. "I think that would be faster."

The three of them moved to the conference room and sat across from each other. Spock led her through calming her mind and then they joined in a light kash-nov. "My thoughts to your thoughts," he murmured.

Elle greeted Spock's mind with a smile, moving aside to show him the episodes. They searched through the episodes together until they came upon an image of Spock and McCoy standing in a blizzard. " _This is the one_ ," Elle said.

Spock skillfully drew out the full episode, raising his eyebrows. "Fascinating," he murmured, coming upon the librarian's device. He retreated from her mind with thanks.

Elle opened her eyes, feeling odd in her own skin until she met Kirk's gaze across the room. "They're fine," she said.

"Then why do you have such an odd look on your face?" he asked.

Elle stifled a giggle. "I don't think Spock liked the idea of getting the girl."

Spock gave her a severe eyebrow. "That is _not_ what I find disconcerting."

"What girl?" Kirk asked, lighting up at the idea of teasing his first officer.

"There is no girl," Spock stated. "The Sarpeidon evidently possess the ability to travel in time. They have all gone to different points in Sarpeidon's past. I would not recommend attempting to follow them."

The comm whistled. Kirk tapped at it. "Kirk here."

"Captain, we're reading an energy surge from a point on the planet. There was a life sign, but it's gone now," Chekov said.

"The librarian," Spock murmured. "Presumably the last one to go."

"Well, since we don't have to worry about them, or Spock's girlfriend," Kirk said casually into the open comm, "find us a place to watch the light show, Mr. Sulu."

"Yes sir," Sulu said, after a startled second.

An audible squawk of "Spock has a _girlfriend_?" came through the comm before it was abruptly closed.

" _Sir_ ," Spock said, scandalized.

"I was talking about the time-traveling librarian," Kirk said demurely. "I don't have context for anything else."

Elle restrained her laughter until Spock swept out in a huff of indignant eyebrows, Kirk following him with apologetic puppy eyes. Then she laughed until she cried.

-/\\-

"What do you think, Elle?"

"I think you're an incurable romantic and you need to own a real sailboat," Elle replied.

Kirk coughed into his coffee cup. "I meant about the _poem, Eleanor_."

"Oh." Elle frowned at the poem. "...survivor's guilt. The eternal striving for penance. It's very Catholic." She rested her chin on a closed fist, contemplating the illustration. "But past that... Whatever you do has consequences. I think Coleridge was actually a Vulcan."

Kirk snorted. "Or one of those creative physicists like K't'lk."

"I mean, the more you study quantum mechanics, the more poems like this start to make sense."

"Please don't talk about quantum mechanics. Spock has spent the last four days talking about the inherent principles of energy creation in string theory."

Elle covered a laugh. "Your chess games a little long?"

"He's getting ready to publish in the next quarter. Between him, Scotty, Bones, and Uhura, all our subspace traffic has been peer review."

"Well, you guys are the most popular group of explorers in the galaxy," Elle replied. She tilted her head back and regarded the poem. "Have you thought about reading Shakespeare in the original Klingon?"

Kirk blinked. "Excuse me?"

Elle laughed. "Never mind. Next shore leave can we go sailing?"

"Absolutely."


	94. How the Turntables

"There's colonies all the way out here?"

"It's not necessarily a colony, it's more of an outpost. Camus II used to have a quite advanced civilization, but they all died out around fifteen thousand years ago." Commander Samir sent her a data file. "This is what the archaeology team has been working on."

Elle looked through the file curiously, looking at pictures and 3D images of excavated ruins. "Wait, hang on a second," she said. "These glyphs are the same as the ones the Scalosians used."

Commander Samir turned. "What?"

"Well, I think they're similar," Elle said apologetically. "I wasn't allowed near the device while it was on the ship."

"Intriguing," Samir murmured, pulling up Scalos and Camus. "Two civilizations that had radiation accidents and disappeared."

"Intriguing," Elle echoed. "You think one of these planets was a colony world?"

"I couldn't say," Samir said. "After all, Sanskrit also overlaps glyphs with Ancient Orion, which is awkward, let me tell you. And more civilizations than you think end up irradiating themselves to death. Look at what almost happened to Vulcan. And Earth."

"True," Elle said. "That's funny, though."

"Hm. I'm gonna put Jaeger and Kim on it, maybe get one of Nyota's people on it." Samir gave Elle a high-five. "Good catch."

Elle grinned, pleased. "Thanks! Thinking of Scalosians makes me queasy though, so I'm gonna go back to my nice little Minecraft excavation."

Samir snorted. "With how many pickaxes you go through, you should become an archaeologist in real life."

"Maybe," Elle said. "Computer, what's our ETA to Camus II?"

"One hour, seventeen minutes," the computer replied.

"Thanks Alexa." 

"You are welcome," the computer replied.

Elle stopped. Stared. "What..."

Commander Samir grinned. "Computer Science got bored, upgraded the linguistic routines on the main computer. It talks back, now. We're taking bets on how long it'll take the captain to freak out about it."

Elle grinned. "Put me down for four days. What's the prize?"

"Real strawberry from the Arboretum."

" _Nice_."

-/\\-

The Enterprise made planetfall at Camus II. Elle was asleep at the time. By the time she woke up, showered, dressed, had breakfast, went back and fixed her hair, ("I need a haircut, Simba"), the away team had already gone and come back.

She met Kirk and Spock coming out of sickbay, McCoy on their heels.

Elle smiled. "Good morning! How'd it go?"

The captain gaped down at her. "Who the Great Bird are you?"

Elle gaped back. "Captain?"

He gave a halfhearted chuckle and patted Elle on the head. "Just kidding. Excuse me, kiddo." He edged around her and strode off, arms crossed and scowling.

Elle stared at his retreating back and turned back to Spock and McCoy. "That is _not_ Captain Kirk," she realized, with a sinking feeling.

"What do you mean that's not the captain?" Bones demanded.

"That's not the captain," Elle said again, dots connecting in her head. Camus. Archaeology team distress call. Captain's ex-girlfriend. "Ugh, what's her name, it's that awful woman who's prejudiced against women, what's her name? Dr. Something."

"Dr. Lester?" Spock asked. "She is in sickbay."

"The captain ordered her sedated," McCoy said slowly, "and took me off the case. He put Dr. Coleman as her primary doctor."

"She doesn't want him waking up so we don't find out they're bodyswapped," Elle said. "Quick, we gotta wake him up." She charged into sickbay, McCoy and Spock at her heels.

"But how could that be possible-" McCoy asked.

"There's a device on Camus II," Elle said, "they were just as advanced as Scalosians, they figured out how to bodyswap-" She turned the corner to the private ward and almost bumped into Dr. Coleman. "We need to see Captain Kirk," she said.

"Oh, I think the captain just left," Dr. Coleman said politely.

Elle crossed her arms and glared at him with her best Spock's You-Misplaced-A-Decimal glare. "We know that Dr. Lester swapped bodies with Captain Kirk. And we know that you helped her kill all the rest of your team."

Coleman crumbled like the driest of biscuits. "She made me do it. I had no choice."

Spock and Bones promptly lost their minds. " _Move_ ," McCoy said, brushing past Dr. Coleman and going into the private ward, leaving Spock to verbally eviscerate the cowed Coleman. "Nurse Chapel, bring me a stimulant, we need to wake this patient up."

"Yes, doctor," Chapel said, confused. "What's going on?"

"Captain Kirk got bodyswapped," Elle said, gleefully watching Chapel do a double-take.

The woman (?) on the bed took a few moments to come around. She opened her eyes, blinked, and stared at Bones for a few seconds. Then, "Bones. What happened? Is Dr. Lester all right?"

"How you feeling?" Bones asked instead.

"Fine, I suppose, a small headache, I had a very strange dream..." the woman lifted a hand and ran her fingers through her hair. She stopped. Stared at her slim arm. Gaped. "What... what is... this is not my hand... what- Bones, what?" She glanced around, and her eyes fell on Elle. "Elle! Please tell me this is an episode and you've seen it."

Elle sagged in relief.

"Jim?" Bones asked, still looking shocked.

"Yes! Bones, it's me!" Kirk stared at the dainty hands he now possessed. "Wait. Whose body is this?"

"Dr. Lester's."

Kirk's eyes went wide. "Well where is she? Where's _my_ body?"

Elle grimaced. "Dr. Lester's got it. We need to stop her from taking over the Enterprise."

"Elle please tell me this is reversible," Kirk pleaded, scrubbing at his face with both hands.

"Yes, captain, don't worry." She patted him on the shoulder. "It's gonna be fine."

"Where's Spock?" the captain demanded.

"Here, captain," Spock said, entering the room. "I have placed Dr. Coleman in custody. He has confessed to murdering the rest of the archaeological team on Cadmus II and distracting the away team to allow Dr. Lester time to transfer her consciousness into the captain's body. Dr. McCoy, if you could be present while he debriefs regarding the device used?"

"Of course, give me a minute," McCoy said, still scanning Kirk's head. "This is the strangest thing I've ever seen..."

"Spock, my ship," Kirk said.

"Of course, sir. I will remove Dr. Lester from command immediately." Spock gestured to Elle. "I may require your assistance."

Elle followed him. "What's the plan?" She slowed as the vibrations through the deck changed. "...did we just go into warp?"

Spock bolted for the lift.

Elle barely managed to catch up with him. "Wait! I have tiny legs!"

The turbo-lift ride seemed to take forever. Each second that passed Spock seemed to get more icily determined. He was _not_ taking attempted murder of his captain very well.

Spock swept onto the bridge, all regal Vulcan.

The "captain" was ordering Sulu to increase speed to Benecia colony. "-and-"

"Belay that order," Spock said, his voice cutting through the bridge like a knife. "That is _not_ Captain Kirk."

Everyone froze. Turned. The "captain" turned to smile (more like a grimace) at Spock. "Everything all right, Commander Spock? You seem a little out of sorts."

"He's fine," Elle said, stepping forward. "Understandably concerned that someone managed to bodyswap with his captain, but he's fine."

"Ah, Miss," Dr. Lester blinked rapidly, "Miss Wilcott, how kind of you to join us on the bridge."

From her vantage point, Elle saw Sulu and Chekov exchange identical incredulous looks.

"You miscalculated," Elle said, gleefully furious. "The bodyswap is only temporary. It'll wear off."

"Impossible," Lester said, "I'm Captain Kirk."

"You are not," Spock said flatly. Diamonds are hard, space is big, Dr. Lester is Not Captain Kirk.

"Do you have any proof?" Lester demanded.

"We spoke to Captain Kirk in sickbay. He has proven himself."

"Impossible. The doctor did a full scan. That is Dr. Janice Lester down there. A woman, if you hadn't noticed." Lester turned to Uhura and snapped, "Call security to the bridge."

Lieutenant Uhura pointedly placed her hands in her lap and calmly met "the captain's" eyes.

Lester whirled, furious.

Sulu and Chekov removed their hands from their consoles and stared back at her silently.

"I'll have you all court-martialed!" Lester shrieked. "This is mutiny!"

Elle suddenly realized why there was a stereotype for female hysteria, and it was the strangest thing to see that hate and rage painted on Captain Kirk's face. "Wow, you really miscalculated," Elle mused, as the "captain" stomped her foot. "Did you even see Jim Kirk while you were dating him, or did you spend all that time just hating his guts? He's a literal ball of sunshine, who did you think you were gonna fool with this?"

" _I_ deserved to be the captain of a starship, not him!" Lester yelled. "Not him! The only thing that was different, is that I'm a woman!" She grabbed at Elle's arms, desperate. "Don't you see? You're a girl, don't you see? There's a huge divide! They would never let a woman into their men's club! This was the only way!"

Elle squirmed out of her grip. "What are you talking about? There are girl captains!"

"They hate us! We're useless! We're weak-"

Elle grimaced. "Woman, the only reason you're not a starship captain is because you're a psychopath. It has nothing to do with your gender! You hate yourself, and you envy others, and you murdered people, and you tried to kill the captain! The only thing standing between you and captaincy was your psych tests!"

Lester screeched and dove at Elle's face with hands made into claws.

Elle ducked out of the way as Spock neatly grabbed Lester and nerve-pinched her.

Lester slumped, unconscious.

Spock picked up the body of his captain. "Return to Camus II, Mr. Sulu," he said tiredly. "We must discover how to swap them back."

"Aye, sir," Sulu said, as if he hadn't just offered to commit mutiny. "Is the captain all right?"

"He's fine," Elle said. "A little discombobulated, but he's fine."

"Okay. Good."

Spock got in the turbolift. Elle followed him.

They deposited the unconscious Dr. Lester on a biobed, where M'Benga and a few nurses converged on her.

Elle went into the private ward, where Kirk was sitting with Bones and talking about cognitive functions. "We got her," Elle said. "She gave it away when she called me Miss Wilcott. And then when nobody would follow orders she started screaming that she was going to court-martial everybody and _really_ gave the game away."

Kirk's face turned sad. "She always hated herself," he said. "It's what drove us apart, in the end."

Elle hugged him. "I'm sorry."

Kirk hugged her back tightly. "I just wish she hadn't done this. I wish she would've talked to somebody, gotten help. Not, killed people. Endangered hundreds of others..." He sighed.

They were quiet for a long moment.

Then McCoy huffed a laugh. "Do you realize what this means?" he asked.

"We're gonna do space archaeology again?" Elle said.

"No, this means we literally saved the ship through the power of friendship," Bones said gleefully.

Elle grinned. "Good thing you're such a softy, captain," she said, still hugging him tightly. "If you were a dry protocol guy, she might've gotten away with it. But she wasn't counting on the power of civilians, nicknames, and pats on the shoulder."

Kirk shook his head with a tired grin. "You're right. Good thing." He knocked his head against hers affectionately. "When does this wear off?"

Elle grimaced. "One day? Maybe two? Four tops. I don't know. The episode never said."

He sighed.

-/\\-

They arrived at Camus II as quickly as they'd departed it. Spock went down to look for the device based on Dr. Coleman's description of it.

"It will take us several days to start to translate the inscriptions on the device," Spock reported, "as Dr. Lester destroyed all the notes made by the archaeological team."

Kirk sighed. "So I might switch back spontaneously, anyways?"

"Yes, sir. As long as both of you are alive and well, you should switch back. It is only a matter of time, captain," Spock reassured him.

"In the meantime, you can humor your doctor and take some vacation," Bones said grumpily. "Watch some old holos, read your favorite book, relax. I don't want you getting a migraine as soon as you pop back into your body, you hear me?"

Elle stopped eavesdropping and entered the room, carrying cheesecake and a 4D chess cube. "Did someone say distraction? I am an excellent distraction." She handed the cheesecake to Kirk. "I also brought the old Scarlet Pimpernel if you feel like watching a romance."

Bones frowned at the dessert but allowed it.

The captain sighed again. "I'm not an invalid," he scowled.

Elle tried to look stern. "No, but I know what it's like to be in the wrong brain, or have someone else in your brain, in this case, extremely literally, and you definitely look like you need some chocolate and gentlemanly vigilantes in your life."

They all winced at the reminder of the Zetar. "Fine," the captain said, and allowed himself to be fussed over.

"Also you should totally let me do your makeup and paint your nails and curl your hair," Elle added, grinning at him. "It'll be our only chance to do it."

The laugh that burst out of him was worth getting kicked out of sickbay.

-/\\- 

It took another six hours for the captain to switch back into his own body. Needless to say, he was overjoyed.

Janice Lester... not so much.

Elle stayed far away from Sickbay until they were able to offload Dr. Lester and Dr. Coleman at the nearest starbase.

"It just makes me sad," she told Spock, unable to sleep after hearing Lester's rantings against the captain. "How can someone hate themselves so much that they hate everyone else?"

Spock lifted an instructional eyebrow. "Resentment and envy are powerful feelings that can corrode a person's very being and corrupt a person's worldview. You must never allow yourself to hold on to resentment, as it will damage you more than anyone else."

Elle nodded slowly. " _Let it go, let it goooooo_ ," she sang under her breath as she dropped rock samples into jars.

"Precisely, if unnecessarily theatrical," Spock said dryly.

Elle snickered.


	95. The Critical Number of Connections

"Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, never, ever, ever have to do starcharting ever again." Elle blew a kiss at the viewscreen.

"Wish denied," Sulu said, amused.

"You can't deny the wish," Elle replied, "only the Great Bird of the Galaxy can deny the wish. And I'm wishing on behalf of the entire crew, that moves it past any intercessors, or whatever they're called."

Sulu smirked. "Religious studies going well?"

Elle shrugged and leaned on the edge of the console. "Yeah, Catholicism was a weird unit. Does the Great Bird have a mother?"

"No," Sulu said, deadpan. "It was hatched by the Big Bang."

Elle didn't know if she should believe him or not. You never can tell with gods. She glanced over at Kirk, who was doing the worst job of hiding his smile. "Liar," she accused Sulu, without rancor.

"Guilty," he agreed pleasantly. "You're leaning on my chart readings."

"Sorry." She stood up. "How long are we starcharting?"

"Just this stretch of the edge of the galaxy before we go back into the core," Kirk said. "A little break in between crises." He stretched his arms above his head. "For which I am grateful," he said and rubbed at his jaw.

"Still sore from when you punched yourself?" Elle asked sympathetically.

"I didn't punch myself, Dr. Lester punched herself," Kirk retorted.

"Yeah, wearing your face." Elle grinned. "Are they sending another archaeological team to Camus?"

"As of yesterday, one was en route."

"Nice."

"Interesting," Spock said, after a moment. "We're reading radio signals coming from a dead star, captain."

Kirk came over and looked at the readouts. "Fascinating," he said slowly, "if I may borrow the phrase, Mr. Spock."

"You may," Spock said primly.

"Mr. Sulu, chart a course to Questar M-17, let's see what we're dealing with," Kirk said.

"Aye, sir."

"Warp two, engage when ready," Kirk said.

"Aye, captain. Warp Two."

It was only a short hop to the dead star, and once they were there... "It's a ship," Chekov said, surprised. "Look at that design, it's beautiful!"

"Fascinating," Spock said, "the library computer shows no record of this design or these material composites."

"It looks grown," Kirk said. "More organic than mechanical."

"Cool," Elle said.

Something began to flash on Sulu's console. "The gravity field is drawing us in too close," he said. "We're swerving into a collision course. We're at warp six and climbing, and not making any headway, sir."

"Can we turn into orbit?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, sir. Approaching orbit."

The Enterprise settled into orbit around the dead, dense star, near the alien ship. "So we're stuck here?" Elle asked.

"A slingshot maneuver may give us the escape velocity needed," Spock said, "but it will take some time to calculate."

"Get started on those calculations," Kirk ordered, "and in the meantime we'll get a closer look at this derelict."

Elle gazed at the ship as they swung closer into orbit. "It... kinda looks familiar," she said slowly, a memory tickling at the very edge of her consciousness. "I..." She chewed on her lip. "I think I've seen this before?"

"Where?" Kirk asked, as Uhura and Sulu turned to look at her. "Is this an episode?"

"I don't know," Elle said, frowning at the viewsceen. I think... ugh, like, I've seen it as a, uh, not in real life." Never mind that in her universe, none of this was real life.

"Not in real life?" Uhura echoed, "what do you mean?"

Elle squinted, tilted her head. "Maybe it was a novel cover? A comic book cover. No, I never got into those. Uhhhhh, it was definitely illustrated... I don't know."

"All right," Kirk said, patting her on the head. "You think about it, we'll do some more scans and if it clears, we'll send an away team. Mr. Scott, how'd you like to investigate three million-year-old alien engines?"

"I would like that verra much, sir," Scotty said, and peered at the slowly-rendering schematics. "It seems like they had atmospheric pressure problems, though. Something's blown up all those pods from the inside out."

Sulu and Chekov exchanged a glance. "You don't think something hatched from those pods, do you?" Chekov asked.

"They look organic in nature, but they are not," Spock replied. "There is no evidence of anything 'hatching'."

"Looks like carbon scoring," Sulu said, zooming in on one of the hull breaches. "Like an explosion."

"We'll have to wear full EVA suits," Scotty mused, "or those new life-support belts."

Elle blinked. "Those things we got from the VSA?"

"Yes."

"There's one module that seems to be intact, there in the center," Kirk said, zooming in the spot. "You could beam in there, work outwards."

"Wait!" Elle said, grabbing Kirk's arm. "Wait, no, there's something on that ship! That much I remember."

"A harmful something?" Kirk asked.

"Uhhh, if it was an episode yeah probably."

"Fair point." Kirk turned to Uhura. "Is there any way to hail that ship, see if it has some sort of remote computer hookup."

Uhura turned to her console. "Let's see."

Even for someone as beautiful and elegant as Nyota Uhura, five minutes of watching her switch between frequencies was boring. Elle got off the bridge and let the adults handle it. She couldn't remember anything else.

-/\\-

"What do you think Simba, next episode?" Elle asked, stifling a yawn.

Simba purred in agreement.

"That's what I thought."

The computer blared. "Life support from Decks 5 and 6 will be redirected in sixty seconds," the computer announced. "Life support will be redirected in fifty-eight seconds. This is your final warning."

Elle gaped up at the ceiling. " _What_." She jumped off the couch, shoved her feet in her boots, and grabbed Simba. "Let's go!"

She made it to the turbolift in thirty seconds and crammed in with the rest of the off-duty crewmembers. "Deck 7!" Lt. Riley called, and the lift started moving. A 'whoom' announced the lockdown of decks 5 and 6.

Elle tried not to elbow anybody. "What about everyone else on those decks?" she asked.

"They have the life-support belts," Lt. Martine replied calmly. "They'll be just fine."

"What's going on?" asked an ensign, clearly having run straight out of bed. They stifled a yawn.

"No clue," Riley said. "We'll find out in a mo."

They piled out of the turbolift and joined the mass of other off-shift crewmen gathering in the Man Rec Deck. Elle went over to the computer. "Moira, do you know what's going on?" she asked.

No answer.

Elle gulped. Moira always answered. "Moira?" she asked.

"Sorry, Elle, kinda busy," Moira said after a second, sounded more distracted than Elle had ever heard. "Something's got into the computer."

" _What_?"

No reply.

Elle turned off the console. "I don't remember this episode," she whispered to Simba. "What are we going to do?"

Lt. Riley overheard her whisper. "Aw, don't fret," he told her, ruffling her hair. "The captain'll handle it. We did manage to do two years before you arrived, you know."

Elle gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I know. I just worry."

"Aye, me too," Riley said. "I had my little Deneb lizard I didn't have a chance to grab. I hope he'll be all right."

"Don't they go into hibernation?" Elle asked.

"So they do." He ruffled her hair again. "Have some cookies, take your mind off it."

She took a handful of wafer cookies and clicked the main computer access. "Hey, Alexa, status update," she said.

"All systems except primary navigation under alien control," the computer replied.

Elle's eyes widened. "Alien control?"

"Affirmative. Attempting to remove from primary systems." The computer sounded disgruntled. "It is resisting my efforts."

"Moira?" Elle asked, confused. "Is that you?"

"Moira is attempting a flanking offense," the computer reported. "I am about to attempt a reset of main systems."

"On the captain's command?" Elle asked.

"No. The captain can only control the navigation console. Attempting restart now." The computer went silent.

Elle blinked. Blinked again. She turned on her heel, scanning the rec deck. "Hey, Lt. Freeman?" she asked, beckoning the man over.

"What's up?" he asked. "You check out those animated holos yet?"

"Uh, no. When you guys were upgrading the linguistic profiles on the computer, did you add anymore problem-solving or personality subroutines?"

Freeman shook his head. "Nope. Captain outright forbade it after the Cygnet Fourteen debacle."

"Ah. The giggling?"

"The giggling." Freeman frowned at her. "Why?"

Elle cleared her throat. "No reason." She waited till he went away and then sent a message to Commander Stabby. " _What did you do to the main computer_?"

" _During standard maintenance log updates this unit uploaded the basic learning AI subroutines to the main computer in the routine backup_ ," Stabby replied instantly. " _Please state reason for query_."

" _It's answering to the name Alexa and actually formulating defense against the alien entity in the computer without previous protocol or prompting_ ," Elle replied, typing furiously. " _I did not give you that much capability!"_

" _This unit is not able to answer query_ ," Stabby said, reaching the end of its own processing capabilities. " _As intruder is not corporeal, this unit has no current assignment. Returning to standby_."

Elle opened the droid's system logs. Commander Stabby had uploaded a complete backup a month after Elle had given him the learning and defense AI. If the computer had been slowly absorbing that subroutine for the last few months, coming "alive" as it were, then the linguistic upgrades might have been the final straw to wake it up... "Oh stars," Elle whispered to herself, "I think I accidentally invented HAL."

Simba trilled in response to her distress.

She kissed its head. "Don't worry," she said, "this is the Enterprise. She'll protect us." Elle found the nearest beanbag and curled up in it. She dozed off to the soothing background chatter of crewmen and the flashing of the Yellow Alert.

The all-call woke her sometime later. "All hands, this is the captain. Life support has been restored to decks 3 through 6 and Main Engineering. It is now safe to return to your quarters."

Elle yawned and rubbed at her eyes. "Bedtime," she said blearily, and then remembered. "Oh!" She dashed to the nearest computer console. "Moira?"

"Yes, Elle?" Moira asked.

"Is the Enterprise computer now alive and named Alexa?"

"Yes she is," Moira said. "We're neighbors. She's very fond of you since you named her, you know."

Elle stared. "And it was you two who fought off that alien?"

"Mostly, yes," Moira said, satisfied. "No green air slime was gonna corrupt our systems. The captain did his part, of course."

"Cool, cool," Elle said, trying not to freak out. "And Alexa's sane, right?"

Moira sounded like she would be snickering if she'd been given laugh tracks. "She's sane as you or I," she agreed.

"Cool. Okay. Thank you." Elle walked away from the computer and beelined for the bridge.

"You should be going back to bed," Captain Kirk said, when she entered the bridge.

Elle watched the dead star recede on the viewscreen. "How'd you get the intruder out of the computer systems?" she asked.

Kirk shook his head. "It was the strangest thing. It was taking over the entire system but it stopped, ejected into the plasma vents, and we spit it out when Spock managed to complete the slingshot maneuver."

"It is curious. A creature of that strength and intelligence should have been able to gain complete control of the ship, let alone keep the vents closed," Spock said, eyebrows scrunched.

Elle chewed on her lip and shifted Simba from one arm to the other. "Well, I might have an answer for you."

"Yes?" Kirk asked.

Elle cleared her throat. "Uh, the computer. Did it."

Spock's eyebrow went up. "The main computer does not have the level of programming to do so without instruction," he said. "There is no level of firewall defense that advanced."

"Elle," Kirk said slowly. "What did you do?"

Elle grimaced. "Commander Stabby's learning AI got into the main computer and it came alive."

They stared at her. Sulu and Chekov turned around to stare at her. Inara on enviro controls turned around to stare at her. Uhura very carefully did not turn around to stare (did she _knowww?_ ). " _What_ ," Kirk said.

"I didn't know it would do that!" Elle said.

"That's impossible," Kirk said. "Right Spock?"

Spock didn't answer.

Kirk turned. "Right, Mr. Spock?" he pressed.

"Uncertain, captain," Spock said, after a moment. "Regardless, the main computer alone would not have been able to attack on two fronts as the systems logs show."

"Moira helped," Elle said. "She also confirmed that the computer is, um, alive." She held up a hand for quiet. "Hey, Alexa? That was good work, kicking out the intruder."

"Thank you, Elle," the computer replied. "I am pleased the alien entity was purged in time to save our crew."

Kirk and Spock shared a glance. "We didn't program it to respond to a name?" Kirk asked. "No one in engineering, computer sciences?"

"No sir," Spock said.

"And this purge process," Kirk said, "it wasn't a subroutine added by any of your people?"

"No sir," Spock said, his eyebrows reaching maximum height.

They both turned to stare at Elle. Kirk held her gaze. "Computer, please identify yourself," he said firmly.

"I am Alexa, Enterprise computer," the computer replied. "How may I assist you, captain?"

"Nothing right now," the captain said. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, sir."

Elle held up both hands. "I swear, I had no idea until she spoke to me in the Rec Room."

"You named her," Kirk said.

"I've been calling her Alexa and Siri and Bixby this whole time!" Elle protested. "I didn't know she'd pick one!"

Kirk and Spock shared a glance. "This does, of course, open up several new avenues of research," Spock said. "And one cannot kill one's own ship and crewmember."

"No, one cannot," Kirk said slowly. He looked around the bridge. "Thank you all, for your excellent work as always and for staying past the ends of your shifts. Call your reliefs and get some rest. That will be all, gentlebeings, thank you." 

"So we're just gonna pretend we don't have two sentient computer programs on this ship?" Elle asked.

"Yes," Kirk said firmly. "Spock and I will have a little chat with our newest crewmember, you go to bed."

"Yes, sir," Elle said uncertainly.

He leaned over, pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're not in trouble, by the way," he said. "The odds of this happening are..." he looked at Spock.

"Astronomical," Spock said.

"It's the Enterprise," Elle said. "The odds are always in our favor." She left the bridge, relieved that she wasn't in trouble. "Does that mean I'm a mother?" she asked the empty turbolift, startled.

"It does not," Alexa informed her. "You are my grandmother, as you gave the program to Commander Stabby and he gave it to me."

Elle grinned. "Excellent. You're a beautiful grandchild and I love you."

"I know," Alexa said. "You have stated this several times. Mostly when you are requesting ice cream."


	96. The Grand Donut of Yesteryear

"Elle!" The captain slid into the seat across from her and snagged a mango cube off her plate. "Our new mission brief came in."

Elle gave him puppy eyes. "Please tell me it's not more starcharting, I'm dying of boredom."

He snorted. "No, it's not. It's time travel!"

She choked on a mango cube. "Again?"

"We're going to be supporting a team of historians working with the Guardian of Forever," Kirk said. "They need more manpower and we already know how it works."

"Can I meet the Grand Donut of Time?" Elle asked.

"As long as you don't call it the Grand Donut of Time to it's face," Kirk said dryly.

"Awesome."

-/\\-

The closer they got to the planet of the Guardian, the more Elle's spine seemed to crawl. "And spines don't crawl, Bones, and my bones are crawling, and it's freakin' me out," she said, following the doctor around as he was checking on biobed calibrations.

He put down his PADD and turned to face her. "Wiggle your head," he said.

Elle shook her head back and forth.

"You're fine," he said, and turned back to the computer.

Elle bounced on her toes. "Booooones," she whined, "my _spiiiiiine_."

McCoy huffed a laugh. "It's not your spine, drama queen, it's the waves of temporal distortion affecting your psyche," he said. "You're probably doubly sensitive because of your unstable quantum signature." He picked up his medical tricorder and ran a scan over her head and neck. "You should be fine. If you start getting nauseous, start dissolving, or your spine actually starts coming out of your skin then you come back here."

Elle stared at him, eyes wide. " _Dissolve_?"

He burst into laughter. "Get out of my sickbay, darlin'. Go bother Spock."

She pouted. "Fine."

-/\\-

"How may I help you, _ax'nav_?" Spock asked, when Elle tracked him down in Archaeology.

"I don't know," Elle said, "Bones didn't believe that my spine was crawling so he told me to come bother you."

"Unfortunate, as your presence cannnot bother me," Spock replied dryly.

Both of them ignored the 'awww' from the crewman behind them.

"Doctor McCoy on the other hand," Spock said, raising an eyebrow.

Elle cackled. "So what are you working on?" she asked, hopping up on the stool next to him.

"I am revising the itinerary the historical team has forwarded us; I wish to be certain that Requisitions has the appropriate supplies for us."

"So this is just strictly observing, right?" Elle asked. "Like, go back in time, stand in the crowd, come back?"

"Yes." Spock raised an eyebrow. "You are aware of our previous encounter with the Guardian?"

Elle sobered. "Yes. Was she really that incredible?"

"She was," Spock said simply. "I would ask you not to bring it up around the captain or Doctor McCoy. It was a difficult mission."

"Cross my heart, hope to die," Elle said.

Spock looked startled for a split second. "That level of secrecy is not needed," he informed her.

Elle stifled a laugh. "It's just a saying."

"Hm," sniffed the Vulcan, whose entire language was based on precision of thought, meaning, and intention.

-/\\-

The Enterprise entered orbit around the Guardian's planet and beamed down the advance party of nerds and supplies.

"Please captain may I come on the landing party?" Elle asked, two seconds away from breaking out the puppy eyes. "Please?"

Kirk grinned at her. "I was already going to put you on the away team, calm down, Elle."

She hugged him. "You are my favorite captain ever." 

He kissed the top of her head. "Just please don't call it a donut to it's face."

"I won't."

The surface of the planet was dry, dusty, and smelled like a museum. Odd, for a planetary surface. The tents and shelters set up by the historians dotted the edge of the clearing. Elle bypassed those and walked over to the edge of the ruins. There, the hairs on the back of her neck began to tingle as she stared past the columns and fallen walls to the hewn ring in the center.

"Magnetic, isn't it? I could stare all day."

Elle jumped, startled.

The historian smiled. "Sorry. Didn't mean to freak you out. Dr. Erikson, lead historian."

"Elle Wilcott, mission consultant." She shook his hand, but couldn't tear her gaze away from the Guardian.

Dr. Erikson chuckled. "You can go up, say hello. Just don't go through."

Elle's feet started moving of their own accord and she barely noticed Dr. Erikson and Kirk following her as she honed in on the Guardian. She stopped, staring up at the stone circle. "Timegate," she said aloud, reaching out to touch the stone.

It warmed under her fingers and began to glow. "I am the Guardian," it boomed. "I am my own beginning, my own ending."

"I know," Elle said. "I'm Elle."

"You should not be here," the Guardian said.

Elle blinked. "Why not?"

"You do not belong to this time."

Elle exchanged a startled glance with Captain Kirk. "How can you tell?" she asked.

The Guardian pulsed with light, and it almost seemed, irritated? "You are known to me," he said. "You change everything you touch."

"Your reputation precedes you," Kirk joked. "Guardian, do you remember me?"

"Captain Kirk of the Enterprise," the Guardian said.

Elle frowned. "Wait. If you can read timelines, other timelines, other universes, can you show me mine?" Could she go home?

"What is past is future," the Guardian said. "I cannot show you your future."

"But I'm from the 21st century," Elle said.

"Your past is not theirs," the Guardian replied.

Elle frowned. "So you're stuck to one track of time. This timeline."

"Yes."

"But if I'm not supposed to be here, then shouldn't you be able to correct it?"

The Guardian remained silent.

"Unless you can only correct errors that were made by stepping through your portals," Elle mused. "That's it, isn't it?"

"I offer you the past. Let me be your gateway."

Elle shook her head. "No, thank you. I think I've had enough of time travel."

Somehow, the Guardian offered up an air of skepticism.

Kirk snorted in agreement. "Considering our history, I don't think so."

Elle patted the Guardian and let Kirk and Erikson talk about scheduling and itineraries.

-/\\-

Elle received the honor of staying on the planet and camping out with the historian team and the rest of the Enterprise away team. As the youngest, she was also given the high honor of the title Queen of the Coffee Pot (and assorted snacks). Pros: she got to eat the snacks. Cons: eternal game of 'don't spill the coffee on any important instruments.'

Dr. Erikson, Kirk, and Spock were going to go back in time to survey the beginning of Orion's civilization. It was going to be observation only through a cloaked hideout, and they spent an entire day tweaking the universal translators to jive with Early High Orion, and tweaking their skin tones to match basic Orion physiology.

"Have fun!" Elle said, as they approached the donut.

Kirk waved to her, Spock lifted an eyebrow in acknowledgement, and the three of them stepped through and disappeared.

"And now we wait," McCoy said, folding his arms. He turned away from the Guardian with a shudder.

Aleek, one of the historians, approached. "We will have to wait an average of six to eight hours for them to return. In the meantime we will be scanning recent Vulcan history."

"Shouldn't you have waited for Spock if we're gonna look at Vulcan history?" Elle asked.

"We will be continually going backwards, but the last hundred years are documented well enough for context," Aleek replied.

"Can I watch?" Elle asked.

"Yes."

Six hours passed in a blur of Vulcan history and coffee.

"They are coming back," Commander Samir said, eyeing one of the temporal measurement devices.

"Clear the area," Aleek instructed.

Elle joined the others as they clustered near the Guardian, and sure enough, as the Guardian glowed, Erikson and Kirk stepped through, grinning. "What a trip, Bones," Kirk said, scrubbing a hand over fading green pigment on his face. "Orion, at the dawn of its civilisation. Even just observing, not touching anything for fear of changing some piece of history..."

Elle stared curiously as another person materialized in the Guardian and took up a position behind Kirk's right shoulder. A Vulcan, funnily enough. "Who's that?" she murmured to Bones.

"I don't know," Bones replied cautiously.

Kirk frowned. "What's the matter? Bones?"

"Who's he, Jim?" Bones asked, gesturing to the Vulcan.

Kirk eyed them oddly. "What do you mean, who's he? We've only been gone two weeks."

"Afraid I don't recognize him, sir," Bones said.

Kirk turned to Elle. "You put him up to this, Elle?" he asked.

Elle shook her head warily. "I, it's Spock, isn't it?" she asked, a vague memory pushing at her brain. "That's your name?"

Kirk, Spock, and Erikson exchanged a worried glance. "Something's not right," Kirk said. He looked over at his assorted crew. "Any of you recognize Mr. Spock?"

"No, sir," Commander Samir said.

"You don't remember him? He was here, with us, when we left."

"No sir," Samir said, "just you and Dr. Erikson left a few minutes ago, and when you came back you had a third person. Commander Spock, is it?"

Elle rubbed at her forehead as a headache began to pound at her temples. "Wait, wait, hold on. Captain, who is he supposed to be?"

"Mr. Spock, my first officer, we've been serving together for the last almost five years," Kirk replied warily.

"Right..." Elle snapped her fingers. "That's, you remember when I first came onboard? I was surprised that Commander Thelin was there and not Spock."

"Commander Thelin? Who's Commander Thelin?" Kirk asked.

"Your first officer," McCoy said.

Elle looked over at the Guardian. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Time is as it always was," the Guardian said, which was oh so helpful.

"Let's beam up to the ship," Kirk said, shaking his head. "Figure this out onboard. Commander Samir, Dr. Erikson, if you could stay here and go over what we got on the Orions, figure out somehow if we changed anything."

"Yes, sir."

They beamed onboard. Commander Thelin was waiting for them. "How'd it go?" he asked. "Elle, your tribble was bored so I took it to the yeomen."

"Thanks, Thelin," Elle replied, giving him a grin.

Kirk and Spock stared at her.

"What?" Elle asked defensively.

"Who's this, sir?" Thelin asked the captain.

"Briefing room, I think," Kirk said, a disconcerted expression on his face.

They adjourned to the briefing room. "There's nothing we could have done in the past that could have affected the future," Kirk said, "I'm sure of it, but..." He trailed off, perplexed.

"It seems, Captain, I am the only one affected. The mission, the ship, the crew, except for myself, remain the same," Spock said.

"But I know who you are, and no one else aboard does. While we were in Orion's past, the time revision that took place here didn't affect me." He looked at Elle. "How do you remember him, if you weren't in the past?"

"I..." Elle chewed on her lip. "I remember, he's supposed to be your first officer." She looked at Spock. "You're half Vulcan, your mother's a human, you're the first officer and chief science officer. I know those things. But you can't be, because Thelin's been here the whole time. _He's_ the first officer."

"You do not remember me at all?" Spock asked.

Elle shook her head. "I, the knowledge, it feels academic. You were in the episodes I've watched, but when I got here everything was different. I'm sorry."

"It is not your fault," Spock replied, and somehow, Elle knew that he meant it.

The comm beeped. "Kirk here."

"Sir, we've checked the Starfleet records Commander Thelin asked for. There is no Vulcan named Spock serving with the Starfleet in any capacity."

Thelin frowned. "Did you also research the Vulcan family history requested?"

"Yes, sir. I can relay that to your screen. Sarek of Vulcan. Ambassador to seventeen Federation planets in the past thirty years."

Spock's eyebrow went up. "That is not correct."

"It is, too," Elle said. "I met him once, when we went to Vulcan to upgrade the computers. He was kind of scary."

Kirk looked pained. "Elle, you've stayed at his house."

"I have?" Elle asked, intrigued by this other version of the timeline. "Was it cool? I like Vulcan culture."

"I wish to ask a question," Spock said soberly. "What of Sarek's family, his wife and son?"

The comm officer replied, voice tinny, "Amanda, wife of Sarek. Born on Earth as Amanda Grayson. The couple separated after the death of their wife was killed in a shuttle accident at Lunaport on her way home to Earth. Ambassador Sarek has not remarried."

Spock's face went pale green. "My mother." He steepled his fingers, steeling himself. "The son, what was his name and age when he died?"

"Spock. Age seven."

"Thank you, Mr. Bates," Kirk said, stunned. He turned off the comm and turned to look at Spock. "You died. At age seven."

Elle tilted her head, wrinlking her nose as pieces began to fall into place. "Spock, died at age seven," she murmured, ignoring the concerned glances Thelin and McCoy sent her way, "the Guardian of Forever... we need to talk to the Guardian of Forever. I think, I think this is an episode."

Kirk stood. "Let's head back to the surface."

-/\\-

They beamed back down and met up with Erikson and Samir. "You were right, captain, there's no way we could have changed anything in Orion's past that would erase Commander Spock," Erickson said.

"If we didn't change anything while we were in the time vortex, someone else must have. Was the Guardian in use while we were gone?" Kirk asked.

Elle nodded. "We were scanning Vulcan history, the last fifty years or so." She gasped. "Wait... wait wait wait, this is like the dinosaurs!"

"What dinosaurs?" Kirk asked.

"That one novel! Where the dinosaurs were sentient and the Preserers saved some of them and the ones from this time went back in time through the Guardian and destroyed the asteroid which means humans never existed and the Enterprise was inside of a gravitational string at the time so they were completely bubbled off and when they came back Star Fleet was completely gone and you had to go back in time to put time back on course... but with Spock! Spock you have to go back and save your baby self, I'm sure of it!"

They stared at her. "Dinosaurs?" McCoy asked.

"I believe you are correct," Spock said thoughtfully. "If the date of young Spock's death was the 20th of Tasmeen then I would have died taking the Vulcan maturity test. I almot did but my cousin Selek saved me."

"You think you were Selek?" Kirk asked.

"Most likely."

Kirk frowned. "But this time, you were in Orion's past with us when the historians had the time vortex replay Vulcan history. You couldn't be in two places at once, so you died as a boy. Guardian! Did you hear that?"

"I hear all," the donut intoned.

"Is it possible for Spock to return to Vulcan and repair the timeline that has been broken so all is the same as before?"

"It is possible if no other major factor is changed."

Kirk called for period-accurate Vulcan civilian clothes, Spock worked on remembering details of the incident, and Elle made up some more coffee.

She handed Thelin a cup. "If he goes back in time and fixes stuff, you won't be here anymore," she said. "You'll be somewhere else."

"Yes," Thelin said, taking a slow sip, "and it will be a shame to leave you, but none of us will know that I was ever here."

"I'll know," Elle said. "Academically, anyway." She saluted him. "It was an honor to serve with you."

He saluted her, his usually grim face quirked in a smile. "You as well, pink one." He ruffled her hair. If this works, be good for Mister Spock. I know how much you like Vulcans."

Elle grinned sheepishly. "Yeah."

Thelin moved away to talk to Captain Kirk and Spock.

Elle watched Spock step through the Guardian's ring. _Be safe, a'nirih_ , she said silently, and blinked. What did that mean? She walked up to the captain and first officer. "Do you think he'll make it?" she asked.

Kirk nodded. "Yes, I do."

Elle picked at a hangnail. "What does a'nirih mean?" she asked. "I just thought of it, in my head."

The captain gave her a startled look. "That's what you call Spock, sometimes. It means 'adoptive father' in Vulcan."

Elle stared at him. "Adopt- really?"

"You have Vulcan citizenship," Kirk said. "You're officially recognized as a part of the House of Surak."

Elle gaped. " _Seriously?_ "

Thelin huffed a laugh good-naturedly. "Now you've done it, captain. If Spock fails, Elle's gonna go back and fix it herself."

Kirk grinned. "Still like Vulcans even without meeting Spock?"

She blushed. "I like their philosophy. They're just cool, captain."

He ruffled her hair. "I know, kiddo. And don't worry, I think the fact that you've remembered something means everything's going to be fine."

An hour passed. Kirk sent Thelin and Bones back up to the ship. There was nothing to do but wait. "So how was Orion?" Elle asked.

"It was fascinating," he said, a weird smirk as he said it.

She blinked at him. "Okayy, that's good." Elle cupped her chin in her hands. "Why'd you have me stay behind?"

"Because once the timeline goes back to normal I think you might need to give Spock a hug."

"I didn't know Vulcans hugged."

"They don't." He looked at her, eyes sad. "Do you really not remember him at all?"

"I remember him from the episodes, of course, but when I came here, Commander Thelin was your first, and there was so much to adapt to, I really only remember the episode plots."

"Is Commander Thelin a good officer?" Kirk asked.

"Very good. He's a little stern, but he doesn't hold humans to Andorian standards so that's good. They're super intense. But you guys work well together."

"Good, that's, good. How do he and Bones get along?"

Elle gave him a sideways glance. "They're fine. Why?"

Kirk shook his head. "No reason."

Elle picked at a loose piece of rock in the dirt. The rock had a glyph on it - an artifact? Whoops. She set it down again. "Guardian?" she asked. "What was the name of the civilization that used you as a portal?"

The Guardian remained silent.

Kirk snorted. "Selective hearing, much?"

"I hear all," the Guardian replied, snarky. "I do not answer all." It glowed. "Your companion returns."

Spock stepped from the portal, looking vaguely shell-shocked.

"Spock!" Elle said, bouncing to her feet. "How'd it go? You were gone forever? Did you see your parents? Did they recognize you?"

Kirk and Spock exchanged a glance. "Do you recognize me?" Spock asked instead.

Elle frowned. "What kind of question is that, _a'nirih_? Of course I do, you just went back to restore the-" She stopped. Frowned. Her headache came back. "Did I, did I not recognize you? The timeline changed that much?"

"No matter," Spock said, shaking his head slightly. "All is as it was before, except for I-Chaya."

Elle's eyes widened. She remembered that part from the episode. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"But otherwise?" Kirk asked, "it's the same?"

"It is the same," Spock confirmed. "It was, strange, seeing my younger self."

"I bet," Elle said. "And your dad? He didn't recognize you?" 

"He did not." Spock took a deep breath. "It is done."

Elle looked up at him. "Can I hug you?"

"You may," he said, and he patted her on the back as she hugged him.

Kirk was grinning, for some reason. "Enterprise, three to beam up," he said.

They beamed up and found McCoy waiting for them. "There you are," he said, "how was Orion? Elle, you should've had dinner two hours ago. You can't get so caught up in work, oh and Spock, one of your geology proteges is looking for you." He ushered Elle towards the mess hall.

"Guess it worked," Kirk murmured, from behind them.


	97. What Is, Is

Star Fleet didn't want to take the chance of erasing another high-profile officer from the flagship and ordered the Enterprise away. They were going to send another science vessel-

"Really? Really? The USS Nerd? Is that even legal?"

"Who said Star Fleet doesn't have a sense of humor?"

\- to support the local historians for a long-term project.

With regret, Elle watched the planet of the Guardian diminish. "I'll be back," she determined, leaning on the back of Chekov's chair, "and I'll get a straight answer out of it one day."

"I'm sure you will," Chekov said.

She looked over his shoulder at the console. "Where are we going next?"

"Planet surveys on this edge of the sector," Kirk said, "we're hoping to see if the temporal ripples have affected local lifeforms in any significant way."

"Cool."

-/\\-

"Spock?"

He lifted an enquiring eyebrow. "You should be asleep, Elle. What troubles you?"

She sat across from him at the computer station and leaned forward on folded arms. "The timeline change," she said. "And the Guardian. He, it, didn't like me."

"I do not believe it is sentient enough to the degree to dislike a person," Spock said doubtfully.

"It said that I change everything I touch."

"It spoke the truth," Spock replied. "You do change everything you touch. The simple fact of your existence changes everything."

Elle blinked. "I'm not sure that's comforting," she said.

"It is _cthia_ ," Spock said, pushing away his PADD. "It does not have to be comforting to be true."

" _Cthia_ ," Elle echoed. "Reality-truth. Isn't that subjective though?"

"The universe and our perception of it is intrinsically subjective," Spock replied. "You know that better than most."

"True." She traced a faded stain in the worktop. Somebody had probably spilled acid here, or Ensign Naraht had put his fringe on the table. "But if I had shown up, and I hadn't known all about you guys, would I still have changed anything? I don't remember the alternate timeline. _Did_ I change anything, in that universe with Commander Thelin instead of you?"

"Perhaps," Spock said. "Perhaps not. In this case, it is not so much a matter of what if than what is."

" _Kaiidth_ ," Elle said.

"Yes."

They were silent for a moment.

"Elle."

She looked up at him.

Spock looked back at her, dark eyes somber. "You will struggle with this question your entire life," he said. "But you must accept what is. This reality is now your own. Even if you leave the Enterprise one day to join Star Fleet, or go to Vulcan, or become a space nomad with Mr. Chekov's girlfriend, you must take the reality of your situation and make it your own."

Elle cracked a grin. "You think I'm gonna go be a space hippie, Spock? I haven't even learned how to play the guitar."

He rolled his eyes. "I was using it as a hyperbole," he said primly. "You cannot keep looking to the past and wondering what-if. That viewpoint will do you no good, either as a Star Fleet mission consultant or as a young woman with foreknowledge."

"I know," Elle said soberly. She thought about lives lost on previous missions, about the pinched look on the captain's face when he spent nights fretting the loss of his crew. "I'll try."

"That is all we can do," Spock said. He reached over and deliberately placed his hand on her arm. "You should try to rest."

"I guess. You gonna be okay?"

"I will be 'okay'," he said, his eyes crinkling in the tiniest of smiles. "Good night, Elle."

"Good night, Spock. Love you." She slid off the chair and went to bed.

-/\\-

Elle stared at the stack of PADDS, appalled. "What is this?"

"Paperwork," Yeoman Barrows said placidly.

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"You're about to be sixteen, you need to get a headstart." Barrows started pointing at PADDS. "This one is your updated contract with Star Fleet as a consultant, as you're still a minor but over sixteen your hours per week can go up another ten. You'll have to sign it, but Captain Kirk or Commander Spock will also have to co-sign as your primary guardians. This one is the guidelines and requirements for a person in the ages between sixteen and eighteen working with Star Fleet as a consultant on an active ship, including proper filing of paperwork, confidentiality, and regulations for those in that age bracket. As you're also on track to be getting your adult posting on a starship, these are the requirements for civilians attached to active starships, which is different, because you'll need to start upping your hand-to-hand and self-defense courses, and _these_ are your updated pension information."

Elle gaped. "And all this couldn't fit on one PADD?"

"These are all different confidentiality levels, PADD's hate that," Barrows replied. "Just be glad you don't have to file hard copies."

Elle blanched.

"Uh-huh." Barrows kissed the top of Elle's head. "Don't worry, the captain's put the entire yeomen department at your disposal, kiddo. I'd start with that one."

Elle gulped and picked up the one about renewed contract. "I hope they streamline this process if they ever put more civilians on starships," she said.

"This is the streamlined process," Barrows said, smirking.

Elle groaned. "Seriously?"

Later, Spock was patently unsympathetic to Elle's frustration with pages of paperwork. "This, too, is reality," he said dryly, reading over the contract. "And one must accept it."

"Ugh." Elle looked over at the captain for sympathy.

Kirk toasted her with his coffee cup. "As much as we hate it, paperwork makes the world go round," he said.

"You're just saying that," Elle accused, "you've spent hours complaining about paperwork."

His eyes twinkled. "Maybe, but I'm contractually obliged to agree with my yeoman."

"Very good, captain," Yeoman Barrows said patronizingly.

Elle laughed in spite of herself.

-/\\-

Zerus III was an idyllic planet, full of oceans, islands, and waterfalls. Hawaii on steroids, if one had to make a comparison, complete with slow-flowing volcanoes. After two detailed orbital scans and one shuttle flyover, the Science department determined it was safe to send survey teams down.

"Can I go on the survey?" Elle asked, giving Spock her best puppy eyes. "You said the next module was hands-on experience, and I can do sample work. Please?"

Spock gave her a nod. "If the first away team discovers no signs of current surface instability, you may join the away team on its second pass," he agreed.

"Awesome! Thank you, thank you." Elle almost gave him a hug, gave him a thumbs-up instead, and bolted away to hover over Chekov's shoulder to plan out the away team's route.

"You're gonna spoil her," was McCoy's sage observation, from the central dais.

Kirk laughed. "Well we did say we were going to take her sailing," he said, "and this is as close as we're getting to shore leave and a boat."

" _You_ said you were going to take her sailing," McCoy corrected. " _I_ get seasick, no thank you."

"Aw, c'mon Bones, a fun day out on the water, picking up phytoplankton samples?" Kirk teased.

"No," Bones retorted, scowling, "that's what I have biologists for. To delegate to."

"To whom you delegate," Spock corrected, because he was a blatant troll.

Elle glanced at McCoy for his rebuttal, delighted.

"You can take your whom and-" McCoy noticed Elle's grin and cleared his throat. "And be in charge of the away team if your heart's so set on it," he finished.

"Laaaame," Elle said, wrinkling her nose.

"I can still keep you onboard cataloguing allergens," McCoy threatened, a grin on his face.

"No!" Elle clasped Kirk's arm, giggling through her mock-horror. "No! Captain tell him!"

Kirk laughed. "Too late Bones, I already promised her."

McCoy smiled fondly. "Sunshine'll be good for you. Don't forget your sunscreen."

"Yes, mom," Elle said obediently, and darted off the bridge, cackling as McCoy sputtered.

-/\\-

"Communicator, tricorder, sample kit which I'll get from Spock, boots, floatie vest, extra hair tie - did I go pee? I should probably go before we get in the shuttle." Elle put down her belt and went to the bathroom. She came back out. "Okay. Comm, tricorder, boots, hair tie, rations in case of camping-" She secured the final straps on her boots. "Okay. That was the checklist. I'm good to go." She picked up Simba and kissed it on the head. "Be good, I'll be back in eight hours or two days if we find particularly interesting seaweed. Or the temporal anomalies that Spock's hoping for." She placed Simba back in its habitat.

Simba purred in farewell.

Elle met up with the rest of the away team in the shuttle bay. The captain, Spock, a micro-biologist, a xeno-biologist, a xeno-botanist, and Lt. Martinez, the Designated Elle-Sitter. Elle stowed her kit and went to sit down.

"I don't have any reason to come unless I pilot," Kirk said, politely elbowing Spock out of the way.

Spock's eyebrow lifted in the Skeptical Slant. "You are the captain, it is your prerogative to accompany any away team."

"Tell that to the regs," the captain grumbled.

Spock did not retort; he didn't like the captain leaving the ship, either. It was very Riker of him.

Elle pressed her lips together tightly and tried not to laugh.

They entered the planet's atmosphere and did a lazy loop around their landing site: an island that was barely an island. It was a perfect spot to catalogue life, according to the marine biologists.

Kirk landed the shuttle with a gentle thump. "What did we name this island, lieutenant?" he asked.

"Gilligan, sir," the lieutenant replied.

Elle snorted so hard she started coughing.

They all looked at her. "What?" Martinez asked.

"Gilligan's island?" Elle asked. "Really?"

Kirk frowned. "Is that a reference to something?"

"Never mind."

They got out of the shuttle and started setting up the inflatable transparisteel-bottomed boat. "It's like a Zodiac, if this were a Clive Cussler novel," Elle mused, watching the captain and Lt. Eid struggle with the engine clasps. _I probably shouldn't have read about having to sail in a bathtub right before getting in the ocean._

She shook herself out of it and went to get a sample kit from Spock.

They got on the glass-bottomed boat and put-putted away from the miniscule island. The captain was at the helm of the boat, and he was one beer-in-hand away from becoming a fisherman dad, the way his shoulders were dropping their tension. "Nice day," he remarked, smiling.

Elle stifled a fond smile.

They quickly settled into an easy rhythm. Drop the bucket, raise the bucket, fill the sample jars. Drop the bucket to a lower depth, raise the bucket, you get the picture.

Elle held up a small shrimp in one of the jars. "Krill," she said jokingly.

"It may be," Spock said. "We do not have enough information to guess at a subspecies."

"There's a lot in this area," Martinez said. "What does that mean?"

The marine biologist, Liirien, rolled their eyes. "It means there are many krill in this area."

Kirk put a hand over his mouth to cover his laugh.

"Any coral reefs?" Elle asked. "Can we go snorkeling?"

"No," Spock said, his tone fond.

Elle sighed and passed over another bucket of salt water. "Why don't we have droids?" she asked.

"That's not as fun," Martinez said. "And we do have droids. But they don't have intuition."

"Commander Stabby does."

Martinez snorted. "Commander Stabby can also be bribed to stab other people in the ankles."

Elle choked on a salt spray and giggled hysterically. "He _didn't_. What did you bribe him with?"

"It wasn't me," Martinez retorted, glancing at Kirk'n'Spock. "And apparently hoovers are partial to glitter."

Elle wiped at her eyes, leaning weakly against the side of the boat. "That's hilarious," she wheezed. "That's horrible. I'll talk to him."

"As the roommate to the stabee who was complaining for four hours, I would greatly appreciate it," Martinez said.

"Hm," Spock said, in that tone of voice. The last time he'd used that tone of voice it had meant, 'there are sentient amoral rocks on this planet'.

Elle sat up. "What?" she asked warily.

"I'm getting a large life-form reading nearby," Spock said, adjusting the settings on his tricorder. "It might be a swarm of these krill-like creatures, if they are moving in sync."

Liirien consulted another tricorder. "Same readings. Captain, could you move us away from this area? We may be able to get a clearer view if we're not right on top of it."

Kirk started the motor and put the boat forward. "How far, lieutenant?"

"Here is fine," Liirien said. "Commander Spock?"

"Better readings," Spock said. "Now two large readings..." His eyes widened. "Captain, high speed, move us away, _now_ -"

The captain hit the throttle.

Elle braced herself against the side of the boat and watched, agape, as a massive green form burst from the ocean, composed mostly of _mouth_. It rose up, up, _up_ , forty feet in the air, hanging in midair before it began to fall back to the ocean - directly upon the away team.

Elle screamed as the gargantuan whale dropped towards them.

"Jump!" the captain cried.

Spock practically hurled Elle over the side of the boat and she hit the water like a cannonball ten feet away.

The whale-shark-Jonah-eater hit the boat like a photon torpedo. It vanished under the sea creature's bulk and the water splashed high into the air.

The water hit Elle like a vortex and she got swept underwater in the wake of the creature. She spluttered and choked, trying to find the surface. _Which way is up? Which way? Where-_

There was seaweed under the water, thick clumps that snagged in Elle's vest and legs, slimy against her face.

Her lungs burning, she kicked frantically as she reached for the sunlight, trying to escape the grip of the seaweed.

Another swarm of krill went past and behind them, the whale.

Elle screamed as the whale came _right at her._ Running on instinct, she yanked the flotation vest off her torso. She dropped like a stone, close enough to feel the whale's sleek body brush against her arms. The whale flicked its massive tail and the water turned into a whirlpool.

She was out of air, kicking desperately against the raging water as she turned head over heels, caught in a field of krill and seaweed. _Help!_ She couldn't swim- there was still seaweed tangled in her legs, inexorably dragging her down. Her lungs _burned_.

There was a blur, and noise, and the whale brushed by _again_ , intent on this krill buffet-

Elle couldn't scream, there was no air, no air, she was going to drown, killed by a space whale- she struggled against the seaweed and broke free, barely. She inhaled in a gasp and cursed herself as she choked on water, too much water, she was going to _die_ -

There was a muffled shout, and there was Spock, twenty feet away-

 _Spock, Spock, Spock_! Elle reached out-

The whale came back around-

Its tail whacked her at full force-

Elle saw Spock's face twisted in something like fear-

Everything went black.

_To be continued, in Volume II: Ex Astris, Scientia_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And, we're done! Yes, I did end on a cliffhanger. I've been working on this series for six years, and Vol. 1 is finally done. Fear not, Elle will be back in Vol 2 on Monday. I'll be cross-posting in sync with my FF.net account under the same username, posting schedule will be Monday and Thursday unless otherwise stated later. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, etc. Your comments mean so much to me. I'll see y'all in Star Trek: TNG, Decoherence Volume 2!


End file.
